


Remind Me

by legally_blonde



Category: General Hospital
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 157,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6229027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legally_blonde/pseuds/legally_blonde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason is trying to remember the life he lost and decides that Sam is the person to help him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I.

Sam was finishing up some laundry and was still getting settled back into the penthouse. She was beyond grateful that Jason let her keep it for her and Danny to live in. As much as she loved living with Patrick and Emma, she missed living here and the memories that this place held. Sam did realize it didn't feel the same, though. She figured she just needed to get used to being back, but deep down she knew it was because Jason was alive and not living with them. Sam didn't think she'd feel at home until Jason could remember.

Her phone started to buzz in her back pocket, drawing her away from her thoughts of an impossible future.

"Hey Jason, what's up?"

"I was calling to see if you were busy."

"Nope, Danny is at school and all is quiet here. I was actually just doing really exciting laundry," she said, earning a laugh from Jason. She missed that.

"I called at the perfect time then. I was hoping we could attempt a trip down memory lane, and was going to ask if I could stop by."

"Absolutely," she said, trying not to sound too eager. "I'll be here."

"Great. See you soon," he said and they hung up.

Jason had been wandering around the MetroCourt, tired of staring at the walls in the room he was staying in, when he decided to call Sam. Carly had been generous enough to let him stay indefinitely since the apartment hunt wasn't working as planned. He felt drawn to the penthouse, but couldn't take it from Sam and Danny. It was their home, and he still couldn't remember fully living there. His memories have been coming back more frequently than they have been, but it still wasn't the improvement he was hoping for. Whenever he's with Sam he remembers more, so maybe being together in their home will help.

Sam was anxious as she straightened up the place. She was trying to get everything back in order, leaving some things out that were Jason's when they were just roommates. She placed a lot of his stuff in his storage unit so he could have it back. However, she did keep some things for herself, but now that he wanted to attempt a trip down memory lane she figured she give them back as well. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves when she heard the knock on the door.

"Hey," she said, opening the door to let him in. "How are you? Come in."

"I'm good," he shrugged. "Thanks for having me."

"Any time," she smiled. "I'm glad you called, I hope I can help."

"Well, we lived together for a while right?" he asked and she nodded in response. "Then I think I called the right person for the job."

"Okay," she said as she went to sit on the couch. Jason watched how comfortable she was here, and how it felt right to have her here with him. "How's Jake doing?"

"He's getting the help he needs finally," he sighed. "Elizabeth texted me before that he was in therapy."

"How's Elizabeth?"

"She's stressed over it, but that's expected I guess," he shrugged.

"Are you guys making amends?" she asked, staring down at her hands because she wasn't sure what the answer would be.

"Not really," he said, noticing the small smile that graced her face. He smirked, but didn't acknowledge it. "She tries to make it like things should be okay and they aren't, and it's not really helping the situation."

"Yeah, well," Sam said with a sigh, trying not to bad-mouth Elizabeth even though she wanted to. "People do crazy things for love."

"I suppose."

"So," Sam said loudly, wanting to dissipate the weird tension that filled the room. "I brought out some stuff that is yours that I held on to, but you should have back. Just want to preface this conversation that if you feel like I'm pushing you, tell me and I'll back off."

"You've been the only person who isn't pressuring me, that's why I wanted to do this with you," he said and laid his hand on her knee. "What's in the bag?"

"Oh right," she said, distracted by the feeling of his hand. "The first thing is your wedding band."

"You sure you want to give this back to me?"

"Of course," she nodded. "It's yours. It was originally your father's. Monica gave it to me and said she knew Alan would want you to have it, you were his perfect son. I don't expect you to wear it or anything - I just think you should have it back."

"Your wedding ring was someone's from the Quartermaines too," he said after a few minutes, his face screwed up in concentration.

"Yeah, it is," she said, trying to keep her tears at bay. "It's your grandmother's ring, Lila."

"I don't have full memories, but they're coming in pieces and I feel something."

"That's a huge improvement," she said, wiping at her eyes. She didn't want to let him know how amazing she felt that the memories he has with her and of their life together are the ones attached with such strong emotions.

"Alright, what's next?"

"The dragon," she said as she dramatically pulled it out of the bag. "Would you like me to tell you or do you want to guess?"

"I feel like I'm on a game show," he joked.

"Name that memory," she said with a smile as she held the dragon out in the palm of her hand.

"I've seen this before, when Helena sent me to kill you," he said and frowned. "Sorry about that."

"I've been shot before and lived," she said with a shrug, trying not to make a big deal over it but the look on his face was a sign she said the wrong thing. "Ah, story for another time?"

"Yeah, definitely," he nodded. "I saw something like this above the fireplace and I remembered you and I couldn't hurt you. This has to do with our wedding."

"Ding-ding-ding!"

"So what's my prize?"

"An explanation," she said with a smirk. "I bought this for you as a gift for our first Christmas as a married couple, and you bought me the phoenix. You remember the meanings from our impromptu vow renewal?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Yi was on to something. Probably should have listened to her," he said. "Anything else?"

"No," she shook her head. "A majority of the stuff is in your storage unit. What was it that made you call?"

"Oh well, uh," he stammered. "I noticed something when I looked around here during the open house."

"Oh God," she gasped, forgetting all about it.

"What?"

"You're flustered. You only stammer like that when you're feeling uncomfortable because you don't do uncomfortable," she said. "I forgot it was in the closet."

"So it is yours," he said with an appreciative smirk.

"You squeezed into it from time to time too," she deadpanned.

"I noticed the closet was filled with many black t-shirts," he said and Sam busted out laughing.

"That's all you used to wear."

"It's a good look," he defended.

"I always thought so."

"Anyway," he said, casting her a look. "I happened to notice this little black and pink outfit that I'm positive I did not wear and for some reason I remembered I had a certain attachment to it."

"Yes, well," she blushed. "We have many good memories involving that outfit. I don't know how appropriate it is to elaborate on those memories."

"Fair enough," he said, although he wished she would. The last few weeks he began to realize he felt this pull toward Sam that he didn't feel with Elizabeth, but didn't want to push. "If you don't mind me asking, how come you didn't bring that with you?"

"I don't have much use for it these days," she laughed. "It was something special from our relationship, so I left it here when I moved in with Patrick."

"So Dr. Drake never saw you in that number?"

"No he did not, not that it's any of your business?" she smirked.

"Just a shame I can't remember because that's something I wouldn't want to forget," he said and looked her straight in the eye.

"Maybe someday," she said after a few moments. "I know you don't remember being my Jason, but I want you to know you're so much like him; and yet, you're still a different version."

"Do you like this version?"

"I do," she said honestly. "You sure as hell talk more than you used to, but I still see the man I fell in love with."

"Sam," he began to speak but she cut him off.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's fine," he said, taking her hands in his. "I feel something for you, but I'm not sure what it is. All I know for sure is that I want you to be the one to help me with all this."

"We've always found our way back to each other, and if I'm being completely honest, I'm hoping that happens this time around," she said as she looked down at their joined hands. "I know you have a past with Elizabeth too, but Lucky was her true love and for some reason she won't realize that and stop thinking it was you. She decided she couldn't be with you and didn't want your life."

"It was dangerous," he reasoned.

"No, and I understand that," she backtracked. "But you were so much more than that and she couldn't see past your job, but I could. You made me feel safe, and loved and wanted. You were loyal and caring, and just such an amazing person that I wanted to be with, no matter what."

"Even if it meant putting your life in danger?"

"I was always capable of taking care of myself, you never put my life into danger. I wanted to be there for you when I could," she said, shaking her head at him. "I'm not a damsel in distress, Jason. I'm not Elizabeth."

"I know," he said calmly, noticing her tone. "You're very different from her."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm attacking you and her, and you came to me for help."

"You don't have to apologize," he said. "You're being honest with me, like you have from the very beginning and I can't tell you enough how much that means to me."

"I just want you to realize that just because Helena turned you into her personal hitman, that does not mean you were anything like that. Yeah, violence was something you were used to, but that doesn't mean you always resorted to it."

"I was Sonny's right hand man," he said, disbelief coloring his tone.

"That doesn't mean you killed everyone who looked at him the wrong way. Like I said before, you're more than a hitman."

"I'm still dangerous. Look at what happened with Nikolas."

"That was an accident and you know that," she reasoned with him. "You're worried you're going to slip back into that life and you don't want it anymore."

"I can't control my reactions sometimes."

"Because you don't have enough trust in yourself. Believe me, Jason. You'd never hurt the ones you love, not intentionally."

"What about accidentally?"

"You only 'accidentally' hurt people emotionally when you think you're doing the right thing," she laughed dryly. "You've broken up with me at very bad times, but you were trying to keep me safe and you're so damn stubborn that you didn't see that I was safe with you."

"You really believe that?"

"I still believe it."

"Thank you for this, Sam," he said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Anytime," she said, patting his shoulder. "I have to go pick up Danny from school. If you're not busy, you're more than welcome to come."

"Yeah, I'd like that," he said with a smile. Sam's smile lit up her entire face, and he realized how beautiful she really was.

"Danny's going to be super excited."

* * *

"Daddy!" Danny squealed as he ran out of school and made a beeline toward Jason. Jason picked him up and swung him around.

"Told ya," Sam said once they stopped. "What about Mommy?"

"I see you all the time, Mommy," he said simply as he snuggled up in Jason's arms. Sam felt the tears prick her eyes but wouldn't let herself cry. She never thought she'd see this. "Can we get lunch? I'm hungry."

"If your Mom isn't busy," Jason said. "We could go to Kelly's."

"Mom?" Danny asked, giving Sam the big puppy-dog eyes that should couldn't say no to.

"Lets go get some chicken fingers," she said with a smile as she tickled Danny's side.

"Yay!" he giggled.

"Mommy," Danny said as he was coloring on the paper tablecloth. "Is Daddy living with us again?"

"Ah," Sam said and grimaced. "No, baby. Daddy's living somewhere else, but he can visit you whenever you want."

"Yeah, buddy. I'm always around."

"Oh, okay," he said. "Does that mean I get two big boy rooms?"

"Sure," Jason answered quickly. "Once I have my own big boy room, you can come and pick out stuff for yours."

"That's so cool," Danny said excitedly.

"Sorry about that," Sam said once Danny went back to coloring.

"No, that went a lot smoother than it does every time I see Jake," Jason said. "Every time I go to see him, he asks if I'm moving back in."

"He's having a hard time, it'll get better," she reassured him. "Um, speaking of Jake."

Jason turned around and saw Elizabeth and Jake walking through the front door. Elizabeth stopped short once she saw him sitting with Sam; she composed herself and plastered a smile on her face as she walked over to their table.

"Hey, I called you earlier. You didn't pick up," she said to him.

"I was with Sam," he said simply. "Hey Jake, how was the doctor?"

"Good. Why are you with  _her_?"

"We talked about this buddy," Jason said. "You have to be nicer to Sam."

"No, she made you move out and now you're not with my mom anymore."

"Oh boy," Sam mumbled as she rested her forehead on her hand.

"Do you get to have two big boy rooms, too?" Danny asked Jake innocently.

"What?"

"Daddy said I can have my own big boy room when he gets his own house," Danny said with a smile. "So I'll have two!"

"Jake, we should grab our food and go home," Elizabeth said, realizing how happy Jason was with Sam. It was painful to watch. "You have homework to finish."

"You can join us," Sam said in a rush.

"No, it's best if we don't," Elizabeth responded. "Goodbye."

"I'm sorry about Jake," Jason sighed.

"We've been apologizing a lot today," Sam said. "We have no control over any of this and saying sorry doesn't do much. Let's just stop."

"I agree, I don't want you to apologize for telling me how you feel, and I have no say in how Jake or Elizabeth act," Jason said. "No more sorry?"

"No more sorry," Sam said and they shook on the agreement. Jason felt a spark when their hands met and was pretty sure it was for how he felt now.

"Mommy, I'm tired," Danny said as he rubbed his eyes.

"You had a long day," Sam said as she rubbed his back. "We'll go home and you can take a nap?"

"Can Daddy come?"

"Yeah, I'll come," Jason said.

"You don't have to, I'm sure you have stuff to do," Sam said, not wanting him to feel obligated to come.

"No, I'd love to come," he said sincerely. "I wanna spend as much time as I can with my boy."

"Okay," Sam nodded, feeling herself get emotional again. "Let me get the check and we'll go."

"I got it," Jason said, stopping Sam from getting out of her seat. He walked over to the counter before she could protest and asked for the check. Elizabeth and Jake were still waiting over there.

"Would you want to stop by later for dinner?" Elizabeth asked him. "Maybe we can talk."

"I'm not really up for talking."

"Talking with Sam is okay though?"

"Yeah, it is," Jason said, turning to face her. "She doesn't lie to me. I trust what she tells me."

"I haven't lied to you, Jason," she said and he laughed in her face. "That was the only lie."

"It was a pretty damn important one," he scoffed.

"Sam is trying to turn you against me."

"Now I see where Jake is getting his attitude from," Jason said. "Why do you want me to remember?"

"So you can remember that at some point you did love me, you wanted to marry me," she said, wiping at a stray tear. "I just want you to come home."

"And that is exactly why it's Sam and not you who I want to help me," he said and she gasped in shock. "She wants me to remember for me."

"She wants you to remember so she can have her husband back," she shot back.

"Maybe. Monica wants her son back, and Carly wants her best friend back," Jason reasoned. "But they all just want me to remember for me. Sam wants what's best for me, not for her. You didn't take anyone but yourself into consideration."

"That's not true."

"Whatever you say," he sighed as he handed the waitress his money. "Have a nice day."


	2. II.

Sam poured herself a glass of wine as she listened to Jason tell Danny a story before his nap. She couldn't help the emotions she felt as she realized that her dreams of a family with him finally came true. He might not be with her, but he's here again and she'd take what she could get after everything that's happened.

"Danny is out like a light," Jason said as he walked down the stairs. He noticed Sam looked like she had been crying. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," she laughed as she wiped her eyes. "You being here still comes as a shock. Thanks for reading him a story, he's so excited to have his dad."

"No thanks necessary," he said. "He's a great kid, you're doing a good job. Just wish I've been here for everything."

"You're here now," she reassured him. "I don't know if you had plans for tonight, but I was going to order take-out from Noodle Buddha and rent a movie later. If you're not sick of us yet, you're more than welcome to join."

"Pretty sure I'd never get sick you being with you," he said with a smile and noticed her blush. "Depends on what movie."

"Danny's a huge superhero fan."

"Batman?"

"Naturally," she smiled. "I showed him pictures of you all the time and you wore black just like Batman. He loves the Avengers too, though."

"Well-rounded superhero kid, smart," he said. "I'm in."

"Really?" she was trying to contain her excitement. "I, uh, may or may not have been eavesdropping earlier and heard Elizabeth asked you over for dinner. She cooks so I figured you want a home cooked meal."

"You don't cook," he said.

"What gave it away?"

"No, I remember you cooking once and it was so disgusting but you worked so hard. We ended up ordering Chinese food."

"That happened," she said, a huge smile forming on her face. "Frequently, actually."

"I have to stop back at my room at the MetroCourt, but I can come back in an hour."

"Only if you want to," Sam stressed, worried she was pressuring him.

"Of course I want to, you promised superhero movies," he said with a smirk. "I'll see you in a little bit."

"Safe to assume your favorite from Noodle Buddha is still the same?" she asked as she walked him out.

"We'll find out," he shrugged.

"New game show," she laughed. "I'll see you later then."

"Definitely," he nodded and leaned in to kiss her forehead, turning around to leave before he started to second-guess the action that came naturally.

* * *

Jason ran up to his room to get the coloring books he had bought a while ago for Danny. Surprisingly, they were superhero-coloring books, so he was pretty sure Danny would like them. He was getting ready to head back out to Sam's when he was stopped.

"Jason!" Carly yelled as she came out from behind the front-desk. "Where are you off to?"

"Uh, out?" he responded. "What's up?"

"Wanted to see how things were going," she shrugged. "Do you have time to talk?"

"I guess so," he said after a moment. He did want to get back to Sam and Danny soon, but Carly's been a good friend so he didn't want to blow her off. He followed her into the dining room and they sat down.

"Want anything to eat?"

"No, I'm actually going back to Sam's for dinner," he said and winced when he realized what he said and the look that spread across Carly's face. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, still smiling. "Just happy to see you're finally spending time with Sam and Danny."

"It's helpful talking with her."

"Sam's good for you, Elizabeth was always toxic," Carly said and Jason gave her a look. "I'm serious, Sam is the one for you. I promise you if you had your memories, you'd be on the floor in shock right now."

"And why is that?"

"I was never fond of Sam, for multiple reasons. My biggest was that she was taking you away from me," she explained. "I knew Sam was different from everyone else, and I could see how much she meant to you. My feelings were confirmed when you flat out told me that Sam had to come first when you both got engaged."

"Let me guess, you didn't like that."

"Of course not," she laughed. "You're my best friend, and I was used to you always being there, I didn't like the idea of Sam keeping you from me. She never did though, she was always respectful of your friendships and your life. That's why she's the one."

"Because she let me stay friends with you?"

"No, smart ass," she huffed. "Because she always accepted and loved you for you. She never tried to change you, never made you feel guilty about what you did. She loved every aspect of you, and I knew there was no competing against that. You two are made for each other. Everyone could see that, except Elizabeth but she's batshit."

"I like being with Sam, I don't feel pressured," he said after a few moments of thought. "And you would think otherwise since I'm sure she wants me to remember our marriage."

"She's just so glad to have you back that she'll take you in any form, she just wants Danny to have his dad," Carly said.

"I remember things better when I'm with her. I feel comfortable."

"And you didn't feel like that with Elizabeth," she said and he nodded. "Aren't you glad I stopped the wedding?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "I suppose I am."

They heard a gasp come from behind them and realized that Elizabeth had overheard their conversation. Carly smiled and waved at her, but Jason grimaced.

"Twice in one day, aren't I lucky," he groaned.

"I'm glad we had this talk," Carly said as she stood up. "Now go home to your  _wife._ How are you, Elizabeth? Do you need anything?"

"I was hoping to talk to Jason," she said.

"He's in a bit of a hurry back to his family."

"I'm his family, we have a son together," she said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, I'll be more specific then," Carly said, stepping closer to Elizabeth. "He's heading home to his wife. You know who that is right?"

"Alright, I think you've been specific enough," Jason said as he pulled Carly away. "Thank you."

"That was unnecessarily rude," Elizabeth said when Carly walked away. "I was hoping we could talk."

"I don't see what more you have to say, I saw you a couple of hours ago."

"I also wanted to see if you were going to come for dinner still."

"Still? I never said I was coming," he said, getting agitated. "You have two minutes to say what you need to say because I'm on my way out."

"Back to Sam's," she said, her tone filled with disgust.

"Yes, not that it's any of your concern."

"What about our life, Jason? What about our boys?"

"You need to stop thinking about yourself for once in your life. You kept me from my wife and son for months, you were going to let our son believe I was just his step-dad and not his actual father! All because you wanted your perfect dream life with  _your_  Jason. I don't feel sympathy for you, Elizabeth."

"I just wanted to give us the chance we always deserved. You finally had no ties to the mob, to that dangerous life you insisted on living. We could have finally been happy."

"What was going to happen if I did get all my memories back after we were married? What was your genius plan for that?"

"I don't know! I was hoping they'd never come back, but if they did at least you'd remember that you did love me at one time."

"Maybe I did," he said calmly. "But I was married to Sam; I am still married to Sam. I chose her, not you, and I'm sure I'd remember why I did and just hate you so much more for everything."

"You hate me?" she asked, looking heartbroken.

"You took away any decisions I had in my life. You let me think there was no one out there looking for me, waiting for me to come home. Sam and Danny were waiting. I'm not keeping them waiting any longer because of you. Goodbye, Elizabeth."

* * *

"Mommy, is Daddy still here?" Danny asked as he walked out of his room.

"No, baby," she said, opening her arms for him to jump into. "Daddy had to leave."

"Is he coming back?"

"He might be," she told him as they sat down on the couch. Danny snuggles closer into her arms. "I ordered us dinner and I promised we could watch one of your favorite movies tonight."

"I wanted to show Daddy my superheroes," Danny said sadly.

"I'm sure he'd love to see them," she said, trying to keep back the tears that were threatening to spill. "You know how Patrick and I explained to you how Emma has a mommy who doesn't live with them anymore? Do you remember what we said?"

"That Emma's mommy loved her and she visited whenever she can, and then she came home."

"Yes, that's like your Daddy. He loves you so much and wants to play with you whenever he can," she told him. "So even though he's not here, he still loves you."

"Okay," he nodded. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, baby," she whispered and kissed the top of his head. Their quiet moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Ready to eat fortune cookies?"

"Yes!" Danny yelled happily as Sam picked him up to answer the door. "Daddy!"

"Hey buddy, did you have a good nap?"

"I thought you were the food," Sam said as she struggled with Danny who was trying to go to Jason.

"Sorry to disappoint," he said, taking Danny from Sam. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Really?" Danny said, his eyes widening in anticipation.

"Your mom told me how much you like superheroes, so I got you this coloring book," he said, handing the bag to Danny.

"Thanks!" he said, hugging Jason before squirming to get down. He ran over to the table to start coloring.

"Don't make a mess, dinner should be here soon," Sam warned, but knew Danny wasn't paying attention at all. She turned to Jason and smiled. "Thank you."

"No thanks necessary," he said as they sat down on the couch. "You looked surprised to see me."

"I think I'll always be surprised to see you," she told him.

"I did say I was coming back," he said and she nodded. "You didn't believe me."

"No, no," she said defensively. "I wouldn't go that far. I didn't want to get Danny's hopes up that you were coming back."

"Okay," he nodded, knowing it wasn't only Danny's hopes she was protecting. "I would have been back earlier but I got held up."

"Carly?"

"Of course," he sighed. "She was fine, though. Elizabeth showed up asking if I was still coming over for dinner, so I had to deal with that."

"I'm sorry," Sam said. "I wish I could say she wasn't always crazy, but she kind of was. Deep down when it came to you something always snapped that made her desperate."

"Not sure how I feel about that."

"You're just irresistible," Sam teased him, gently tapping his cheek. "Girls love a bad boy."

"So that's why you married me?"

"Naturally," she said teasingly, but then gave him a small smile. "You always made me feel safe."

"Dad, look!" Danny said excitedly from the table as he held up his coloring book.

"That's great, buddy," he said as he got up from the couch to walk over to him. "Why don't we clean up and help set up for dinner?"

"Okay," he nodded, scooping up his crayons and placing the back in the box. "Mom, can we hang this up?"

"Absolutely," Sam said, taking the picture from her son. "This is fantastic, it's going right on the fridge."

"Daddy, can I show you my superheroes?" Danny asked as he took the napkins from Jason to put on the table.

"How about after dinner, buddy? Mom just answered the door for the food."

"You're going to stay for the movie?" Danny asked excitedly.

"Of course," he said, ruffling his hair. "What movie?"

"Batman!"

"Dark Knight Rises is his favorite," Sam said as she came over with the food. "Ready for the next game?"

"Always ready," Jason smiled.

* * *

"So," Sam said as she started cleaning up. "Did I win this round?"

"Yeah, you did," Jason said with a laugh, getting up to help her. "You guessed my favorite correctly."

"Do I get a prize?"

"Yes," he said, taking the plates from her. "I will clean up and you can get the movie ready."

"That's a good prize," she said, picking up Danny out of his chair. "Ready for Batman?"

"Batman!"

"I'll take that as a yes," she laughed. Jason took a moment to look at his wife and his son and realized what he's been missing out on, and that he didn't want to miss anymore of it. He quickly cleaned up to join them in the living room.

"So, any reason why Dark Knight Rises is the favorite?"

"He thinks Bane's voice is funny, and I think he likes Catwoman," Sam whispered as the movie started.

"Catwoman dresses like Mommy," Danny said, overhearing his parents. "They both wear a lot of black, and sometimes when Mommy forgets her keys she opens the door like Catwoman."

"I can see the comparison," Jason said with a smirk. "What about me?"

"You're like Batman because Mommy said you make people feel safe and were a superhero who needed to go away like Batman did. But now you're back!"

"Yeah, I'm back for good, buddy," he said, kissing the top of his head.

"I see you didn't tell me that Batman and Catwoman get together in the end," he whispered since Danny fell asleep halfway through the movie.

"Well," Sam said with a small smile, "She knew and accepted everything about him. I think that's always the person someone should end up with."

"What happened to Rachel?"

"You remember Batman movies?"

"No, but I did happen to catch the first movie one night," he rolled his eyes.

"She exploded," Sam said, cleaning off the coffee table. "The Joker told Batman the wrong address and he ended up saving Dent instead of her."

"That had to be rough."

"Oh yeah," she nodded. "I thought she was still alive and they we're going to get together even though she picked Dent. Worked out better in the end."

"You think so?"

"Of course," she said with a smirk. "I'm like Catwoman, obviously I think the trilogy ended perfectly."

"I see," he said, his own smirk widening to a grin. "Do you mind if I tuck Danny in?"

"Not at all," she said. She finished cleaning up and headed up to Danny's room. Jason was sitting next to Danny, smiling down at his son while he sleeps. "He's a cute kid, isn't he?"

"Takes after his mom," Jason said as he stood up.

"Spitting image of his dad," she said. Jason wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his side. "I don't know what the future holds for us, but I'm just so glad you're back so Danny can have this time with you."

"I think our future will be pretty good," Jason said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said, leaning down to kiss her, but his phone began to ring. He ran into the hallway quickly to keep it from waking Danny and shot Sam an apologetic look when he answered. "Hello?"

"Jason, it's Elizabeth."

"Now's not a good time."

"Jake's really hurt, he got hit by a car," she said frantically.

"Where is he?" Sam noticed how his entire demeanor changed and realized something was wrong.

"They're bringing him to Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia. Monica's having him airlifted there."

"Okay, I'll meet you guys there. I'll leave now," he sighed before hanging up.

"What happened to Jake?"

"He got hit by a car," he said and Sam gasped.

"Elizabeth must be destroyed, that's how she lost Jake in the first place," Sam said. "You're heading over to GH?"

"No, I'm going to straight to Philly," he said. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"No, do not apologize for this," she stopped him quickly. "Jake needs you, and Elizabeth does too. Let me know how things are when you get there."

"Thank you for being so understanding," he said, kissing the top of her head. "I'll call when I get there."


	3. III.

Sam walked around the apartment, double-checking to make sure she had everything she and Danny needed. She decided that after the fiasco at her mother's wedding she didn't want to wait for Jason to come back from Philadelphia, so her and Danny were going to him. Danny had been asking about Jake too, and figured it wouldn't hurt for them to spend some time together.

"Danny, did you decide what toys you wanted to bring for the night?" she asked and smiled when she saw her little boy sitting in the middle of his room, surrounded by a mess of toys, looking very confused.

"Mommy, I can't decide," he said. Sam went over and sat down next to him.

"We're only going to be away for one night, so pick your favorites," she told him.

"I did that already."

"So what's the problem?"

"I don't know what ones Jake would want to play with. What if he doesn't have his toys with him?" he asked and Sam felt her hear swell.

"How about you bring some of your superhero ones for Jake."

"Good idea," he nodded, getting up and grabbing a bunch from the floor. "I have some others like these too so he can keep them until he's all better."

"You're a good little brother, buddy," she said, pulling him in for a hug. "Let's put the rest of these away and so we can go see your dad and brother."

* * *

Jason was sitting in the waiting room of Shriner's while Elizabeth paced back and forth in the hallway. Jake was still in surgery and it was his second one within the week. He knew the doctors here were the best, but it was still stressful. He texted Sam over an hour ago, hoping to talk to her to put his mind at ease, but she never answered. She was probably busy with whatever she put off because of the wedding. He missed her and Danny more than he actually expected and couldn't wait to see them when he got back.

"No matter how many times you check your phone the time isn't going to move faster," Elizabeth said, pulling him from his thoughts. "I do wish that was a real thing though."

"Just checking messages," he said. "The doctors said this one might be longer, so you might want to sit down."

"I just hope this is the last one he needs," she sighed. "I just want all my boys home and for things to go back to normal."

"Me too," he agreed and noticed the hopeful look in her eyes. He went to clarify when he heard a familiar voice that stopped him. He stood up and saw that Sam and Danny were at the reception desk.

"Ma'am, unless you're family, I can't give you any information," the employee said.

"I understand, but my son is Jake Spencer's brother and we're just here to visit."

"Ma'am," the employee went to repeat herself but Jason stepped in.

"This is my wife, I'm Jake's father," he explained and didn't miss the judgmental look. "We're over here, Jake's still in surgery."

"I'm sorry, I should have called to find out," she said, following him away from the irritation receptionist. "I wanted to surprise you, and Danny's been asking about Jake, and after the wedding I just needed a bit of a break."

"How was the wedding?"

"Ah, later," she said, tilting her head toward Danny and Jason understood.

"Hey buddy," Jason said, squatting down to eye level with his son.

"Hi Daddy," he said excitedly, hugging Jason. Jason picked him up and the three of them began to walk back toward the waiting area where he left Elizabeth. "Can Jake play yet? I brought him some of my toys because I wanted him to feel better."

"That was very nice," Jason said with a smile. He saw Elizabeth's face when they approached and prayed there wouldn't be a scene. "Sam and Danny came to see how Jake was doing."

"A phone call would have sufficed," she said with a grimace.

"Danny's been asking about seeing his brother," Sam said, trying not to sink to her level. "He brought some toys to play with him, but we should have called. I didn't think he'd be having another surgery. Is he doing okay?"

"The doctors said this should be the last," Jason said, sitting down with Danny in his lap, Sam sat down next to him. "He'll have to do physical therapy after this, but he should have a quick recovery."

"Good, I'm really glad he's going to be okay."

"When can I show Jake my toys?"

"Probably not today, baby," Sam said, rubbing the top of his head. "The doctors are still with Jake and they might be busy all day."

"Oh okay," he said sadly.

"We can see him another day, or when he gets home," Sam said. "I guess we'll head out, maybe sightsee and head back to the room."

"You got a hotel room?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I figured Jake and Danny could spend some time together, and if you two wanted some time to rest I'd stay around here."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said. She might not have been happy that Sam showed up because her relationship with Jason is shoved right in her face, but she realizes that Sam didn't have any other intentions but to bring Danny to visit Jake and to be here to support Jason. She couldn't fully hate her for that.

"It's not easy having a kid in the hospital like this," Sam said knowingly. Jason looked at her but she shook her head again, indicating she'd explain at a later time.

"Mom, can I go play over there?" Danny asked, pointing to the jungle gym across the way.

"Be careful and remember that if you don't see me, then I don't see you and that's not okay. Got it?"

"Got it," he nodded, fist bumping Sam before running off.

"So how was the wedding?" Jason asked again.

"Eventful, to put it lightly," Sam said with a heavy sigh. "Apparently there was a gun deal going down on the piers and Morgan went off the rails and interfered so this guy Dixon showed up and wanted to shoot Sonny."

"Eventful doesn't cover it," Elizabeth said.

"Did anyone get hurt," Jason asked.

"Nathan was shot, but he's doing okay – as okay as you can be," Sam said. "The guy wanted to take Krissy hostage and was asking which of us was Sonny's daughter because he was pissed over Morgan."

"What happened?"

"I, uh, may have said I was Sonny's daughter," she said and Elizabeth stifled a laugh. Sam glared but noticed the look on Jason's face. "He has a gun pointed at Krissy, Molly and me. They were terrified, I needed to protect them."

"How did you react?"

"It's not the first time I've stared down a gun," she shrugged. "I can take care of myself, Jason."

"I'm just glad you're okay," he said, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead before moving his lips near her ear. "Is it normal that I find it really hot that you did that?"

"Yeah, it is," she smiled, turning her head to kiss his cheek. Their brief exchange obviously didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth.

"So, what exactly are you two," she asked.

"I, uh," Sam mumbled, not really knowing.

"It's complicated," Jason finally said. "We're still figuring it out."

"Sounds promising," Elizabeth said. Sam narrowed her eyes, not liking her tone.

"A lot has changed over the last few years, so we're just finding our way back," Sam said with a smile. "Just going one day at a time."

"Excuse me, are you Jake's parents?" a doctor asked when he walked over, breaking up the awkwardness.

"Yes," Elizabeth said, standing up quickly. "Is everything okay?"

"The surgery went perfectly," he said, glancing over at Sam briefly. She excused herself to go check on Danny to give them some privacy. "He's in recovery now, you can see him quickly but then you'll have to wait until the anesthesia wears off."

"That's great," Jason said. "How long until that?"

"About an hour, usually, but it depends," he told them. "You two can follow me and then I'll have someone come back out once Jake is situated back in his room."

"Great, let's go," Elizabeth said, wrapping her arm around Jason's and pulling him toward where the doctor came from. That action didn't go unnoticed by Sam, but she wasn't going to let it bother her. She knew Jason was finally coming back to her and was done with Elizabeth, she just hoped Elizabeth would come to terms with it soon enough.

* * *

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Danny said as he cuddled into her lap. Jake had finally been able to see any visitors and they were just waiting until they could go in to see him.

"We'll go out to eat in a little bit, okay?" she said and he nodded. "You've been such a good boy today, I think we'll find somewhere to get ice cream after. How does that sound?"

"Good!" he said excitedly. "Do you think Daddy will come with us?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Jake needs your Daddy right now so he might stay here, but maybe once everyone comes home we can do that."

"Okay," he said. "You think he'll come home soon?"

"I don't have an answer for that either, buddy," she sighed. "But, hopefully it'll be soon."

Jason had stood back and watched the exchange between Sam and Danny, not wanting to interrupt. He knew she was a great mom, but seeing the bond between them was amazing. He wished he had all the time he lost getting to know his family back.

"Jake is asking for you Danny," he said once he approached them. "He's a little tired though, so I don't know if he'll want to play tonight."

"That's okay, I brought the toys for him," he said when he hopped off Sam's lap and began to walk. He stopped when he realized he didn't know where he was going.

"Follow me, buddy," Jason laughed as he scooped him up and they went to Jake's room.

"He's really tired," Elizabeth said when they walked in, trying to get them to leave. "It's probably better to just leave him alone."

"Sam and Danny waited all day," Jason said as he places Danny on Jake's bed, the two boys smiling at each other. "A few minutes with his brother isn't going to kill him."

"It might."

"We can go, it's fine. We'll try again tomorrow," Sam said, not wanting to cause an issue. "Danny, why don't you leave the stuff for Jake and we'll see him tomorrow."

"Mom look, Danny brought me Iron Man and Captain America," Jake said excitedly.

"You can play with those while you're here."

"Thank you," Jake said. "Thank you Sam for coming, even after what I did. I haven't been very nice to you."

"You didn't do anything," she reassured him. "Danny wanted to see his big brother and we both wanted to make sure you were feeling better. We'll come back tomorrow, you look really tired."

Sam picked up Danny from the bed and walked out, leaving the three of them alone. Elizabeth was getting under her skin, so she really did think it was best to leave. She knew the stress Elizabeth was under and wasn't going to provoke her in anyway, but she needed to stop trying to stake her claim on Jason because that was done with.

"You didn't need to be rude," Jason told Elizabeth. "They waited here all day."

"I'm just doing what's best for my son. Sam would do the same."

"She would," he agreed. "But she wouldn't be spiteful about it." With that, he walked out of the room and ran to catch up with Sam.

"Dad, you want ice cream?" Danny asked, seeing Jason over Sam's shoulder. She stopped and turned around, surprised to see him there.

"Ice cream for dinner? You got a cool mom," Jason said.

"No, ice cream after dinner, silly," she said, tickling Danny's stomach. "I'm still a cool mom."

"You wanna come with us?"

"Buddy, I told you earlier," Sam sighed but Jason cut her off.

"Sure, if that's okay with your mom."

"Uh, yeah of course it is, but don't you want to stay with Jake?"

"He's sleeping and Elizabeth is with him," he said. "I've been in this hospital for a couple days already, getting a little stir crazy."

"Okay," she said, knowing how much he hates hospitals. "As long as there's a kids menu that has chicken fingers on it, we can eat anywhere."

"So now that we know what Mommy is eating for dinner," Jason said with a smirk as he took Danny from Sam. "What are we going to eat?"

"Very funny," she rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop herself from smiling, especially when Jason took her hand in his as they walked out. "My car is parked over here."

* * *

The three of them went back to the hospital to bring Jake ice cream and Elizabeth some food. Danny was asleep in Jason's arms and Sam was pretty tired herself.

"Thank you for this," Elizabeth said.

"Have you slept?"

"A little," she shrugged. "I don't like leaving him here alone, so I sleep on the couch."

"I can see about extending my hotel room so you can get some actual sleep."

"I tried that," Jason said, "I have a room at the Marriott and she won't stay."

"Danny and I are there as well," she said with a smile. "If you change your mind, let me know."

"You don't have to pretend to be nice to me, Sam," Elizabeth sighed.

"I'm not pretending. Your son is healing and you helped a lot when Danny was sick.I haven't looked past the pain you caused everyone, but Jake is the priority now and he needs his mom more than ever."

"You're right, I don't know what's wrong with me," she said, wiping at her eyes.

"Just focus on Jake," Sam said. "I need to get Danny in bed before he drools all over his Dad's shoulder."

"You mind if I help?" Jason asked. Hearing that Danny had been sick concerned him and he didn't want to miss out on more time with him.

"Uh, no," Sam said, feeling awkward. "If you need to stay here, don't feel like you have to come because you're currently his pillow."

"Visiting hours are almost up and they only let one parent in here, so I go back for the night since Elizabeth doesn't want to leave."

"Okay," Sam nodded. "We'll stop by tomorrow before we head back home, if Jake is feeling up to it."

"He'll like that," Elizabeth said. "Good night."

* * *

"Did the wedding really go as smoothly as you made it seem?" Jason asked as he and Sam sat down on the couch in her hotel room.

"Yes and no," she shrugged. "Dixon didn't believe me and ended up taking Molly, but Krissy gave herself up. Sonny ended up saving the day, he can walk now apparently."

"Interesting reveal moment," Jason said. "I'm glad you and your sisters are okay."

"Me too," she sighed. "It was scary."

"I thought you had it handled?"

"Well, I did," she said with a smirk, noticing his teasing tone. "It was still nerve-wracking. I wished you were there because you could have diffused the situation, but being here was much more important."

"Let's hope you don't have to offer yourself up as a hostage again any time soon," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "Thank you for being civil toward Elizabeth today, I know she doesn't deserve your kindness."

"She'll eventually move past it. I am happy with my life and I don't need to make others unhappy for my own happiness," she said. "Has she called Lucky about what happened?"

"I don't think so."

"I think he has the right to know, he raised Jake and the boys as his own – Aiden is his son."

"You think it's our place to call him?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "How would you feel not knowing that your son got hit by a car again and his mom didn't call?"

"I'd be upset," he said. "He's got a right to know."

"I have no problem calling him, but Elizabeth may think I'm just calling him so I can keep you to myself – which I'm not. Lucky and I dated at one point and I know he's a good guy. He should know what's going on with his son."

"So call him and we'll tell Elizabeth it was my idea," Jason said.

"I don't want you to lie about this, you hate lying," Sam said as she pulled out her phone. "Forget I brought it up, that's Elizabeth's decision."

"No, as Jake's dad I think you should call him and it would be less awkward if you did it because I don't remember him."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," he nodded. Sam pulled out her phone and glanced at Jason again, waiting for his approval before calling Lucky. He nodded and she dialed.

"Lucky? It's Sam Morgan."

" _Hey Sam, how are you?_ "

"I'm good. I'm actually calling to find out if you know about Jake."

" _Nikolas just called me to tell me what's going on_ ," he said and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. " _I know that sound_."

"I just didn't want to overstep my boundaries, but I talked with Jason about it just now and he thought it was best to call you too. We just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on."

" _And you were worried if Elizabeth knew you were calling me she'd take it different_ ," he said knowingly. " _Don't worry, Nik beat you to the punch. But thank you for thinking of me, Sam. I'm guessing things with Jason are going well if he's there with you now?_ "

"Um, one day at a time," she said with a smile as she looked over at him. "It's really good."

" _You sound happy_."

"I am. Let me know if you decide to stop into town."

" _I'm going to arrange some things with work. I think my boys need me_ ," he said.

"I would agree. See you soon," she said and hung up. She turned to Jason with a small smile. "So Nikolas called Lucky first and we're in the clear."

"Is he coming to town?"

"I think so," she nodded. "It'll be good for the boys to see their dad."

"It'll be good for Elizabeth too," he said.

"You said it, not me," she said, patting his chest. "I really did want to call out of concern for the boys, I don't want you to think otherwise."

"I know. You're a good person, Sam. You're kind, smart, funny, a great mom, a tough chick. You're the whole package."

"I do my best. It's not easy, but I've come a long way from my past mistakes and I'd like to think I'm a better person for it all," she said. "You're the whole package too, don't sell yourself short. Even without your memory, you're still the best person I know."

"You really believe that?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

"I know we're taking things slow and getting to know each other again," he said, pulling her closer and taking her hand in his. "I just want you to know that I want to give us a chance. I need to stop ignoring what's been in front of me this whole time. My memories have always revolved around you and I think I've been trying to distance myself from my past when I really should embrace it."

"I don't want you to feel like you need to make this decision," she said after a few moments of silence, trying to take in what he was telling her. "I just don't want you to think that I have any expectations of you."

"No, I know. You're not in any way doing that," he said to reassure her. "You've been the only one who hasn't been pressuring me to remember and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. After everything that's happened, you've been the only person to stand by me and be honest with me."

"Other than Carly, can't forget her," Sam said with a smirk.

"Of course not," he laughed. "I can see why we were married, and I'd like to give us a second chance."

"Well, we're kind of past second chances. We've reached about fourth or fifth chance," she said with a smile. "We always find our way back to each other, Jason. You gave me a compass necklace once and told me it was a reminder and a promise that you'd always find your way back to me. You haven't broken that promise."

"Good, I'm glad," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

She smiled into it, realizing just how much she really missed being with him. She's spent so much time making sure that she's giving him his space that she's been suppressing the feelings she has knowing that her husband is physically back.

"Is my kissing that bad that you're crying?" he asked, pulling back when he felt the tears brush his face.

"No, oh my God no," she said quickly, wiping at her face. "I'm just beyond happy that you're here. I can't tell you enough."

"I'm happy I'm here too," he said, brushing her hair out of her face. "There is no where that I'd rather be."


	4. IV.

Sam walked into the MetroCourt and headed for the restaurant. She had gotten home from Philadelphia late last night and promised to meet her parents for lunch. She wanted to give them their wedding present, and make sure they were still speaking after what happened.

"Sam!" Carly called out from the check-in desk.

"Hey Carly," she said as she walked over. "Thank you again for the honeymoon suite. My parents could use it."

"Well, remember I'm doing it for you," she said. "How's Jake doing?"

"He seemed to be doing okay. Danny got to spend time with him before we left yesterday, which was good because the day before he had just gotten out of his second surgery."

"Poor kid," she said. "Did they, um, happen to say how many kidneys Jake has?"

"I don't think they inventoried his internal organs," she said. "You think something is off?"

"Well, yeah," she said. "I want to know who's kidneys my daughter has."

"He was held by Helena, who brought Jason back to life. I think giving Jake new kidneys would child's play," Sam said, trying to reassure her. "I can ask Jason."

"No, no," she shook her head. "I don't want to stress him out with this, especially when he has no idea the circumstances. How's Jason doing?"

"He's good," Sam said with a smile.

"I haven't seen you that happy in years, not counting your moments with Danny," she said. "Are things heading in the right direction for you two?"

"I think so," she nodded. "We're taking it slow."

"You two always took it slow," she rolled her eyes.

"Which is a good thing," Sam said. "He's here and that's all that matters to me."

"I agree," she said. "Don't want to keep you waiting anymore. Your parents sat down like ten minutes ago."

"I will see what I can find out about Jake's time in captivity with Helena," Sam said before walking away.

She knew she'd have questions if it were Danny's life in question. Sam spotted her parents sitting in the corner and made her way over to the table.

"I'm very glad to see the two of you together, in one piece," she said as she sat down at the table. "I wasn't sure what to expect when I got home."

"We're very happy," Alexis said. "Still in one piece."

"How's Kiki doing?"

"Still unresponsive," Julian said with a sigh. "We're going to stop by the hospital after this."

"Speaking of that, how is Jake doing?" Alexis asked.

"Better," Sam said. "I don't know when they're going to let him go home. Jason said they want to make sure the surgery helped."

"How's Jason?"

"He's good," Sam smiled. "Danny was really happy to see him and spend some time with Jake the other day."

"I'm surprised Elizabeth allowed that," Julian said.

"Jason thought Jake would like to spend time with his brother," Sam shrugged.

"And I'm sure Jason wanted to spend some time with you," Alexis said knowingly. She hasn't seen Sam this happy in years and knew the return of her husband had to do with it.

"The three of us went to dinner, it was really nice," she said. "We're going one day at a time."

"You sure you want to get involved with him again?" Julian asked. "He's not the safest person. He did try to kill you."

"While he was under Helena's control," Alexis said, defending Jason. Sam was rather shocked. "I was never fond of your decision to be with him, but I finally realize he's your person. I'm not saying you need a man to be happy, because you certainly don't, but you just look the happiest I've seen you in a very long time."

"Jason's back, how am I not going to be happy? All I've ever wanted was for him to know that Danny is his and not Franco's, and now he knows and Danny gets to spend time with his dad. I never thought he'd have that."

"You're sure you want to be with him?" Julian asked again.

"I appreciate your concern, Dad," Sam said. "I don't know where Jason and I are going to head, but he's back and that's all that's important. He's the love of my life and I don't have to think about all the what-ifs anymore, I can finally feel okay with looking forward in life instead of wishing for the past."

"Okay," Julian said. "I just want what's best for you and my grandson."

"And I really do appreciate it," Sam said. "So, I didn't get a chance to give you your wedding gift."

"You didn't have to get us anything," Alexis said as Sam pulled an envelope out of her purse.

"I wanted to, and you two deserve it," she said and watched them open it.

"A weekend in the honeymoon suite at the MetroCourt," Alexis said. "Does Carly know it's for us?"

"Yes, she's doing it for me, which she just reminded me of before," she laughed. "Cash it in whenever."

"Thank you sweetheart," Alexis said as she put it away. "So, is Jason going to stay at Shriner's until Jake is discharged?"

"Probably, but I honestly don't know. I, uh, potentially did something stupid."

"What?"

"I called Lucky to tell him about Jake," Sam said, running her hands through her hair. "Nikolas called him too, before me thankfully, but I know Elizabeth is going to assume it was me and think I'm just calling Lucky to get her off Jason."

"Did you?" Julian asked.

"Of course not. Lucky raised Jake, he deserves to know what's going on," Sam said. "If Lucky being here leads her to getting back with him, then it's a happy bonus."

"Smart answer," Julian smirked.

"You think Lucky coming around will raise some questions for Jason now that he sees Elizabeth for who she really is," Alexis asked.

"Who knows," she shrugged. "He's really seeing her in a new light that I don't think he's ever had. Maybe it was going there when she said she withheld the DNA test on Danny, but I don't know."

"Guess we'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Jason was dozing off in the waiting room when his phone buzzed in his pocket. The doctors were checking Jake's progress to see if he could go home tomorrow. He was hoping Jake would get the OK to go home so everyone could get back into their normal lives. Elizabeth seemed to be getting too used to him being around all the time, but he wasn't having that conversation here. He was here for his son, like he always would be.

"Hi, I'm Lucky Spencer. My son Jake Spencer is a patient here," Jason overheard from his seat.

"His father is already here, try again," the receptionist said. Jason decided to help Lucky out.

"Can you call for Elizabeth Webber?"

"Lucky, Jake's room is down the hall," Jason said, saving him from the receptionist's wrath. "Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for letting me know," Lucky said as he followed Jason. "How's he doing?"

"He's ready to go home. I think we all are."

"Sam went back to Port Charles?"

"Yeah, she left yesterday," he said. "I didn't tell Elizabeth you were coming."

"That's probably for the best. Are Cam and Aiden here too?"

"Yeah, they're going to stay until Jake goes home," Jason said as he stopped in front of Jake's room and knocked.

"You don't have to knock," Elizabeth said as she opened the door and froze when she saw Lucky.

"Dad!" Cam and Aiden yelled excitedly as they jumped off Jake's bed and ran toward him.

"Hey guys," he said, hugging them both. "I heard from your Uncle Nik that Jake got hurt so I came home to visit."

"Are you staying?" Jake asked.

"I'll be home for a while," Lucky said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Nikolas called him?" Elizabeth asked suspiciously.

"That's what he said," Jason said. "I heard him at the front desk. He probably figured he should know since he raised him and all."

"I didn't think I could get in touch with him," she said, watching them all interact. "He doesn't stay long."

"He might," Jason shrugged, watching them as well. It didn't escape his notice how much alike Jake and Lucky looked. He remembered his phone went off earlier and checked it quick. It was a text was Sam.

"Her and Danny get home safe?" she asked, seeing his phone.

"Yeah," he nodded, slipping his phone in his pocket. "They got home late."

"I'm glad she came with Danny," she said and Jason looked at her in disbelief. "Danny and Jake are your sons and they should spend some time together."

"Yeah, my boys," he said, his eyes drifting back to Lucky. Something wasn't adding up.

* * *

Sam was cleaning up after dinner when her phone began to ring. She checked on Danny to make sure he was playing quietly before answering it.

"Hey, how's Jake doing?"

"Better. Doctors said he can come home tomorrow," Jason said.

"Oh good, I'm glad. He'll probably be so happy to be back in his own bed. Did Lucky show up?"

"Yeah," he said and sighed. "I have a question about that."

"You noticed a resemblance," Sam said knowingly. "My mom was wondering about that when I told her."

"Under what circumstances was Jake conceived?" he asked after a moment of trying to figure out the best way to ask this question.

"Well," she sighed, knowing she was involved in this story. "Here's the abbreviated version. We had broken up, my mother told me she hated me – I ended up sleeping with Ric to spite her. You saw and were hurt and went to Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Lucky were married but Lucky was spiraling and she was hurt. You two slept together and she got pregnant."

"Was there a question if he was mine?"

"Yeah," she said. "She had a DNA test done and said he was yours."

"Interesting," he said.

"What are you thinking?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head.

"So I don't have to bring this up later and put a damper on the conversation," she said quickly. "Do you know if Jake has both his kidneys?"

"Doctors questioned why he had two scars on his back. They asked if he had a transplant. Both kidneys are there, though. We didn't really know how to tell them the actual story. Why?"

"When Jake died you donated his kidneys to Josslyn, Carly's daughter," Sam explained. "She's a little worried."

"I'm sure Helena had him get new ones," Jason said, not believing this was a normal conversation. "I think everyone has a lot of questions that can't be answered."

"So moving on to happier subjects," Sam said, knowing Jason wasn't satisfied with her answers for his earlier questions. "My parents are still in one piece."

"Isn't Ric Molly's father?" he was still wrapping his mind over the backstory he just received.

"I'm not proud of what I did, Jason. I was really hurt that you ended things; my mom wanting nothing to do with me was the icing on the cake. I did it mostly to hurt myself because I felt so unwanted. It's in the past," she said, hoping this didn't change how he felt about her. "We both made a lot of mistakes and came out stronger for them."

"You're right," he said, admiring her ability to admit to her faults and learn from them. They obviously moved past that situation, so there was no reason to give it a second thought. "How's my boy?"

"Playing with his legos," Sam smiled. "He misses you."

"Is he the only one?"

"No," she laughed. "I miss you too."

"When I get home, maybe we should go on an actual date."

"Maybe? That's a sad way of asking me out, Mr. Morgan," she smirked.

"Well, Mrs. Morgan," he said, smiling at how normal that sounded to him. "Will you go on a date with me?"

"I think I can fit that into my schedule."

"You'll pencil me in?" he laughed.

"Just because it's you," she said, hearing a knock come from his side. "Do you have to go?"

"No, let me check who it is," he said. He walked over to the door and groaned when he saw Elizabeth on the other side. "You think I can pretend I'm not here?"

"Elizabeth?"

"Who else," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to ease his frustration. "Hold on."

"You can call me back if you want."

"No, no," he said as he opened the door. "Is it important?"

"I don't understand why you've been so hostile to me lately," Elizabeth said as she brushed past him and walked into his room.

"I'm busy," Jason said. "I'm on the phone."

"You keep brushing me off for Sam and I don't appreciate it."

"Oh Jesus," Sam said as she heard all of this. "Jason, just call me back."

"I'm sorry that I've been spending time with my wife and son and that bothers you," he said, his tone completely emotionless.

"Please," she scoffed. "You don't even remember being married to her. That marriage is done. You're free to move on from her and explore options in your life that you didn't have in the past."

"Like you? I think I did enough exploring, didn't really like what I ended up finding," he said, realizing how cold he was being but he's had enough of her games.

"Sam finally turned you on me. She couldn't do it in the past because you always remember how much you cared about me, but she finally succeeded."

"Sam didn't do anything," he said defensively. "You did this all to yourself. Your lies finally caught up to you and you can't own up to any of it. Maybe once you're able to do that, you'll be half the woman Sam is. Until then, you're just Jake's mom and I have to co-parent with you for his sake."

"She's a con artist tramp who snaked her way into your life and you've just been too blind to see it. She put out and that's why you stayed with her."

"Oh my God," Sam said, wishing she hung up earlier instead of letting her curiosity win. She wasn't even sure if Jason remembered she was still on the phone.

"Don't talk about her like that," he said angrily. "The little memories that I have, the ones that you wished I would never get back, are with her. I remember being with her and that snippet of my past made me feel more than I ever did during my months dating you."

"How could you say that?" Elizabeth said, tears streaming down her face. "We were in love."

"No, you liked Jake – you loved Jason. You took me to bed the minute you found out I was Jason and really fell for me then. Once you stop deluding yourself about how things really were, we can maybe get along. Until then, I'd like you to leave."

"Fine," she said, wiping at her cheeks. "Hopefully soon you'll remember how you felt about me before the accident and you'll realize I wasn't the bad guy."

"Good night, Elizabeth," he said as he shut the door behind her. He lifted up his phone to his ear and sighed when he saw Sam was still there. "So, did you catch all that?"

"I really should have hung up, I'm so sorry," she said quickly. "But thank you for defending me."

"I was kind of hoping you'd stay on," he laughed nervously. "There's only so much I can deal with until I start to think I'm the one acting crazy."

"Nope, not you at all. Maybe Lucky can talk some sense into her."

"Hopefully, because I don't know how many different ways I can tell her that I have no intention of going back to her."

"She's mad it's me you're spending time with. I think if it was anyone else she wouldn't be going as far as she is," Sam said. "I really thought she was coming around, but I guess not. She's never understood how we were always able to find our way back."

"Well, I will be finding my way back to Port Charles and we'll be finding ourselves on a date," he said.

"I'm looking forward to it. I have to get Danny to bed," she said.

"Kiss him goodnight for me," he said before hanging up. He couldn't wait to get home to do that himself.


	5. V.

"It's so romantic that you and Jason are dating again," Molly swooned as she looked through Sam's closet to help her sister get ready for her date.

"Gotta start from somewhere," Sam said as she tossed aside what Molly had picked out for her. "Can we keep in mind how I actually dress maybe?"

"You two should just jump into the sack already," Kristina said without looking up from her phone. "Patrick was hot and all, but you've been Jason deprived; and I don't think Elizabeth's crazy translates into the good kind of crazy in bed."

" _Kristina_ ," Sam said, trying to get her to stop. "Did that really just come out of your mouth?"

"No filter these days," Molly said, shaking her head. "Here, how about this dress?"

"I never bought that dress," Sam said, taking it from Molly. "Where did this come from?"

"Oh, I bought that and hid it from mom," Kristina said, finally looking up. "She would have thrown a fit if she saw it in my closet. You can borrow it."

"I'd like to leave something covered up," she said, tossing at her. "Maybe on the second date."

"Ha, knew it," she said with a smirk.

"Sam, you're not working with me here," Molly said, turning away from the closet. "This is your first date with the love of your life, your soulmate, after he's returned from the dead and has finally found his way back to you."

"Molly, I appreciate how much you're romanticizing this. I'm have flashbacks to when Jason and I got back together," Sam said, trying to stop the soliloquy that was coming on. "In the end, it's still just me and Jason. Our version of romance was a little different. Instead of reading love poems, he read me the specs of a gun from the firearm magazine."

"He did what?" Molly shouted in outrage.

"The romantic styles of Jason Morgan," Kristina said with a laugh. "He's one of a kind."

"What about this?" Molly sighed, sounding defeated. She held up a white dress that had black lace along the waist and around the sleeves. Sam remembered buying that dress a while ago, but never had a chance to wear it since her romantic life came to a standstill once Jason's identity was revealed and she broke up with Patrick.

"Good choice, thanks," Sam said, taking the dress from Molly and hugging her.

Jason was nervous as he approached Sam's door. He wanted tonight to go perfectly. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Why hello Jason," Kristina said with a smirk as she opened the door. "My sister is still getting ready, but please come in."

"Not liking your tone of voice," he said as he walked in apprehensively. "What am I in for right now?"

"Molly's going to probably lecture you on how you have to be chivalrous and romantic and a bunch of other bullshit that isn't important," she said dismissively. "I, on the other hand, have actual words of wisdom to bestow on my brother-in-law."

"Is it going to be inappropriate?" he asked, trying to prepare himself for whatever was going to come out of Kristina's mouth.

"You may not remember, but my sister has been in love with you for years. You took her in and protected her when nobody was willing to give her the time of day. You are why she was able to become the person she is today," Kristina said seriously. "She was destroyed when you were shot and thought you had died, and it took her years to move on from that. Don't pursue her just because you think you have to because technically you're still married; that doesn't do either of you any good. Make sure you think you can have a future with her. She might not want to pressure you into anything, but I always thought a little pressure pushes a person in the right direction."

"I care about Sam, and we both want to see where this goes," Jason said after a minute. That speech was not what he was expected.

"As long as you think this can go somewhere and you want it to, then okay," she nodded. "And there's nothing wrong with sex on the first date – especially when its not really your first date. I think you both could use it."

"And you didn't fail to disappoint," he laughed, embarrassed. "Sam almost done?"

"Yeah, let me go get Danny so he can say hi before Molly and I take him to our house for the night."

"The night?"

"Don't let it go to waste," she said with a wink before walking up the stairs. "Sam! He's here."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sam said as she came out of Danny's room. "What did you do?"

"My sisterly duties," Kristina said, taking Danny's overnight bag from her. "Danny ready to go?"

"Yeah," she said suspiciously, picking up Danny and heading downstairs. She saw Jason sitting on the couch, resting his head in his hands. "Kristina, what did you do?"

"We just talked," she scoffed as her and Molly followed Sam.

"I'm so sorry for whatever was said down here, I had no idea," Sam said as she walked over to Jason.

"It was fine," he said, losing his train of thought when he saw how beautiful Sam looked. "Wow."

"Thank you," Sam said with a smile.

"Daddy," Danny said happily, launching himself from Sam's arms into Jason's lap.

"Daniel Edward Morgan," Sam scolded him. "You could have gotten hurt, you don't do that."

"But Daddy catch me so it's okay," he said with a shrug.

"That's not how it works, mister," Sam said with a huff. "Don't do that again."

"Okay," he said slowly. Sam rolled her eyes, knowing that since Danny was a combination of her and Jason that his danger streak was going to get worse. "You're going to behave for Aunt Krissy and Aunt Molly tonight?"

"Of course, Mommy," he nodded his head quickly.

"Danny's always good for us," Molly said, scooping him up from Jason. "We're going to go so you two can start your date."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Kristina said with a wink as she picked up Danny's stuff and headed out.

"They're so ridiculous," Sam said once they left. "I'm really sorry."

"They mean well," Jason said, taking Sam by the arm and pulling her in for a hug. "You look amazing."

"You don't look half bad yourself," she said, straightening his tie. "You used to hate ties."

"Still do," he said, loosening the knot. "Thought I'd make the exception for you."

"Gonna give me a hint on where we're going?"

"Nope," he said, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Um, did you ride your bike over?"

"No, I found a truck in that storage unit of mine," he said. "Fascinating place."

"Yeah, you never know what you'll find," she laughed. "Let's go."

* * *

Jason had arranged for them to eat dinner on the balcony at the MetroCourt. It was there that he decided to stop denying how he felt and try to get to know Sam better. She was always so generous and quick to help him when he needed it. Carly was ecstatic when he ran the idea by her and asked if it would be okay. Sam looked confused when he led her away from the restaurant and toward the balcony.

"Where are we going?"

"Carly helped me put this together," he said as he opened the door for her. The balcony was decorated with candles and flowers. Sam gasped as she looked around. It was beautiful.

"Jason, you didn't have to do all this."

"I wanted it to be special," he said, walking over to the table and pulling her chair out.

"Here are your menus," Carly said as she walked over to the table. "You have this all to yourself. Chris will be your waiter."

"Thank you for this," Sam said.

"I'm just so glad it's for you," she said. "Have fun!"

"When did you and Carly become friends?" Jason asked as he poured them champagne. "She once told me if I had my memories I'd be dumbfounded."

"Oh, you would be," she said. "Carly hated me, but when you disappeared we got closer. She liked spending time with Danny because he looked just like you. We ended up bonding."

"Well, here's to new beginnings," he said as they lifted their glasses to toast.

"To new beginnings."

The two of them talked for hours. She was so happy that being with him was still effortless. He was surprised how easy it was to be with her. With Liz, he felt like she was expecting so much from him that he had to step up to the plate to impress her. Sam didn't make him feel like that at all.

"Do you have any plans for work?"

"Uh, I think I'm going to leave my past employment in the past," he said. "I've been thinking of helping get ELQ back from Nikolas."

"I think that's a great idea," she smiled. "Nikolas never should have stolen it. I don't know what's going on with him. He was always a stand-up guy, despite his last name."

"Well, whatever it is has to come to an end."

"If you need help, I'm around," she told him. "I'm sure Spinelli would love to go on another adventure with Stone Cold."

"God, that nickname," Jason laughed. "I let him call me that?"

"Let is an odd word," Sam said with a smile. "Spinelli grows on you. He's the greatest guy, and you took him in and helped him grow into the awkward man child he is today."

"I didn't realize I had such a profound effect on people."

"You are one of a kind," Sam said, resting her hand on his arm. "But really, you've got us at your disposal."

"I appreciate it," he said, taking her hand in his and realizing it was her left. He rubbed her ring finger with his thumb; it didn't go unnoticed by Sam.

"I, uh, felt weird putting it back on since I took it off when I was with Patrick," she said, feeling the blush rise in her cheeks. He went quiet and she wasn't sure where his thoughts were heading. During their years together, Sam had become fluent in Jason's silence and was always able to know what he was thinking. Now, she wasn't sure and she realized how much they needed to relearn about each other. "What are you thinking?"

"About a divorce," he said distractedly. Sam gasped quietly and went to pull her hand away. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong."

"How else am I supposed to take that?" she asked, feeling the tears pool in her eyes but refusing to cry. She didn't want to lose him now that she finally has him back, but if a divorce was what he really wanted, she wouldn't know what to do.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm with you because I feel like I need to remember that we're married."

"I don't feel like that," she said quickly. "Do you?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I don't really feel like I do, because it just feels natural to be with you, but I think people have this notion in their head and expectations."

"I know you don't remember, but we never buckled under peer pressure," Sam said. "Our wedding was at a Chinese restaurant because we finally decided on the night before the wedding Maxie planned for us that it wasn't what we wanted. We're unconventional."

"What do you think we should do?"

"I think we should stay married and date," she said as she traced his palm lines, trying to avoid looking at him. "I think it would be easier to do that and if we decide it doesn't work to talk about a divorce then. But I'm not the one who doesn't remember being married, so it's your call."

"I think," he said, closing his hand around hers and bringing it up to his lips to kiss. "You're right and I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Don't apologize for telling me what you're thinking," she said as she rested her palm against his cheek. "Elizabeth got in your head last night when she brought up how our marriage is void since you don't remember it."

"Unfortunately," he sighed as he leaned into her touch. "Her opinions shouldn't bother me."

"But they do because she was an important part of the life you remember now and she's the mother of your son. I get it."

"Mother of my son is up in the air now," he grumbled.

"You really think she lied about that?"

"I don't know, she withheld my life from me so I would stay, you think it's beyond her to lie about me being Jake's dad."

"That was years ago, though," Sam said, playing devil's advocate to get him to really think about this. She wasn't sure if this was coming from the residual pain he felt or if he genuinely believed that Jake might actually be Lucky's.

"We got back together though, despite it all. Maybe she kept up the lie to keep me connected with her. Do I sound crazy?"

"No, you don't," she said, knowing the lengths Liz would go to. "You have always had a soft spot for Elizabeth, and I don't want you to get your memories back and resent yourself for accusing her about lying."

"This isn't the first time she's done something like this," he said, slowly remembering when Elizabeth came to his apartment saying she lied about Danny. "She kept our baby from us and made it seem like she was doing everyone a favor."

"You remember that?"

"Briefly."

"Danny was switched with the baby of this woman Tea Delgado because her baby had died. Liz lied about the DNA results and said Danny was Tea's son when she really knew he was mine," Sam explained quietly. "She did it because she was nervous you'd come back to me."

"Which I did," he said with a smile. "She's obviously capable of anything."

"We'll get to the bottom of it."

* * *

"I had a really nice night," Sam said as they walked to her front door. "Thank you for this."

"Really? I thought I messed up pretty bad," he said. She turned and leaned against the door as he pressed his hand against it, boxing her in.

"No," she shook her head as she began undoing his tie. "It was just me and you, and that's all I ever need. Plus you wore a tie."

"Very glad to be rid of it," he laughed as he took it off and hung it around Sam's neck. "Is this the point in the night when we say goodnight and part ways?"

"Usually," she said with a smirk as she took out her keys and unlocked the door. "Or, there's option two."

"Which is?"

"You can come in and hang out a little longer," she said as she walked inside, noticing that he followed and shut the door. "Just promise no mention of a divorce this time."

"Promise," he laughed as he walked toward her and began to tie the tie around her neck to distract himself. He noticed the way Sam's entire face lit up as she smiled when he started doing that. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, trying to hide her smile but it was too big to contain. "Just funny how natural old habits are for you when you're around me. Not to boost my ego or anything, but I think I'm a good influence."

"Oh yeah? Maybe I should keep you around then," he said, tugging on the tie to pull her closer,

"I think you should," she agreed. She tilted her head up when she felt his hand brush her hair out of her eyes. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, quick images involving a pink tie flashing behind his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think of this story so far :)


	6. VI.

Jason woke up in the morning confused when he felt someone lying on top of him. He quickly remembered he fell asleep with Sam last night on the couch and smiled. They talked late into the night. She told him stores from their past, some good and some not so good. She told him about his family, how was he close with his sister, Emily, and how his grandmother Lila was the inspiration behind his last name. He asked about his past with Elizabeth, and she explained what she knew – warning him it was probably shaded and she probably wasn't the best person to ask. Sam's honesty was so refreshing after being lied to for months and conned into almost getting married by someone he loved and trusted.

He shifted up so he could watch her sleep. She looked so peaceful as she lightly snored against his chest, her arm wrapped around his body like she was afraid to let go. He brushed her hair out of her face and had quick flashbacks of them spending time together on this very couch. They left as quickly as they came, but he felt the emotion tied to them. Sam began to stir and wake up before he could really think more about it.

"Morning," she said with a smile, her voice thick with sleep.

"Did you have good dreams?"

"I think so," she nodded. "You?"

"Definitely. But I'm pretty sure waking up was even better," he said, leaning up to kiss her.

"I should brush my teeth," she said, going to pull back but he wouldn't let her. "Jason!"

"Don't want you to move," he said, kissing her gently as he ran his hand up and down her back. "I'm rather comfortable."

"I'd have to agree," she smirked. "You happen to be a very comfy pillow. I had the best sleep in years."

"Me too, even though you snore," he said.

"I do not!"

"How would you know? That's why you need someone around when you sleep, to let you know when you snore."

"Guess I'm just going to have to keep you around then," she said, patting his chest as she moved to get up.

"I'm okay with that," he smiled as they shifted to sit on the couch. "When do you have to get Danny?"

"Whenever," she shrugged. "He loves staying at my mom's, they fawn over him there."

"He is a cute kid."

"Like his Daddy," she said, patting his cheek. She laughed when he made a face. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Really now?" he said with a smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows, garnering another laugh from her.

"There's a guest bathroom if you want to stick around. Some of your old clothes are in the guest bedroom closet too," she said as she stood up.

"You want me to stick around?"

"Of course," she said, turning around to face him. "But you don't have to. No pressure."

"Which way is the guest bedroom?" he asked and her smile lit up the entire room.

"Follow me."

* * *

They walked together to Kelly's for breakfast. Sam felt like a teenager as they held hands. She loved that he didn't mind spending so much time with her, it reminded her of how things used to be.

"What are you thinking about getting?" Jason asked as they looked over the menus.

"Hm, I'm thinking French toast. You?"

"Pancakes," he said with a wide smile.

"You look so excited," she laughed.

"Who doesn't get excited for pancakes?"

"Good point," she smirked. They placed their orders and began to talk when they noticed Michael at the counter.

"Glad to see you two together," Michael said as he walked over to their table.

"Hey Michael, join us," Sam said.

"No, I'm on my way to the hospital to check on Morgan."

"How's he doing?"

"Not so good," he sighed. "He won't listen to reason and his doctor is reluctant to release him because he's a danger to himself off his meds. I think Mom and Dad want to commit him."

"We're here if you need anything," Jason said and Sam nodded in agreement. "Don't hesitate to call."

"I appreciate it," Michael said. "See you guys soon."

"Crap," Sam said, pulling out her phone to check her calendar. "I totally forgot Danny has a doctors appointment."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, he just has some health issues," she said, trying to downplay it.

"Like?"

"Well, being a Cassadine – technically – I passed down Mediterranean Anemia to him so they monitor that," she said, wondering if she wanted to tell him Danny's in remission right now.

"Is that it?"

"No," she sighed, knowing she needed to tell him anyway. "Around his first birthday, Danny had this rash and a friend of mine said to get him checked out. Danny ended up being diagnosed with leukemia."

"Sam, I'm so sorry," he said, hating himself that he wasn't there for her and their son.

"He's in remission. My dad was a match for a bone marrow transplant and it's a happy ending," Sam said, trying to calm his nerves.

"Do you mind if I come with you for his check-up?"

"Not at all," she said, slipping her hand in his. "I'd really like that."

* * *

Sam and Jason picked up Danny from Alexis' house and headed over to the hospital. She was hoping there wouldn't be any run-ins with Elizabeth. She just wanted this check-up to go smoothly and to get back home.

"Ah, crap," Jason muttered as they stepped off the elevator. Sam grimaced since she knew who that was for.

"Hi," she said, mustering a smile when she saw Elizabeth at the desk. "Danny has an appointment with Lucas today."

"Let me page him," she said and smiled at Jason. "I called you last night."

"My phone was on silent," he said, not really wanting to deal with this. He noticed Lucas down the hall and grabbed Sam's hand to go over to him. The action didn't go unnoticed by Liz.

"Hey, Danny Boy," Lucas said as he picked him up. "Ready for some excitement?"

"Uncle Lucas!"

"I'll take that as a yes," he laughed. "I'm going to take him for his usual tests. I'll get you when we're done?"

"We can't come in?" Jason asked.

"Danny gets nervous," Sam said as she nodded at Lucas to start. "He got used to Lucas being with Patrick, and now Lucas and Brad. He gets antsy when I'm in there because he thinks I'm going to take him home after each one."

"So we wait?"

"Yup," she said, pulling over to her usual bench. "Aren't you glad you came?"

"Of course," he said, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "Wouldn't want you waiting by yourself."

"It's not a big deal, I usually end up talking to Monica if she's around. Got very used to these appointments."

"I'm here now, so you don't have to sit through this alone."

"If you had some respect, you'd keep this to a minimum around here," Franco said as he walked past them.

"Excuse me?"

"Elizabeth works here. I don't think she'd appreciate seeing you and Sam this close since you were supposed to marry her a couple of months ago, and then turned her into the bad guy."

"He's my husband, which she knew when she was getting ready for her wedding," Sam said. "You don't get to speak to me, or Jason for that matter. Don't you have some coloring books to organize?"

"Oh nice, mock the treatment that's helping Jake get over his issues, which include the dissolution of his parents' relationship."

"I think my wife just said you don't get to speak to her," Jason said menacingly.

"I'm leaving," Franco said quickly. He didn't want Jason to remember him just yet.

"I don't like that guy at all," Jason said as he watched him turn down the hallway.

"Well, your instincts haven't changed," Sam said as she patted his thigh. She wasn't going to get into what Franco did just yet. "You have plans for today?"

"Still looking for an apartment, didn't think it would be so difficult," he said. "Best place I found was the penthouse."

"Must be hard living in a hotel where you don't have any responsibilities," she said with a smirk

"Tough life to live, but someone's gotta do it," he said with a laugh. "What about you?"

"Got some work stuff to catch up on. I have to call Spinelli and talk to him about your theory."

"You think he'll help?"

"Is that a serious question? Ellie works in a lab and I would rather have her run the test than have it done here, even though I'm sure Brad wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, I don't want anything to happen to it," he said as he glanced over at Elizabeth, who kept watching the two of them. "I think she's waiting for a show."

"She can wait all she wants," Sam said. "Tired of her playing games."

"Sam," Elizabeth said. "Lucas called and said Danny is done."

"Already?" she said as they stood up and walked over.

"Yeah," she nodded. "He's in the room down the hall. Do you mind if I talk to Jason quick? I want to update him on Jake."

"Yeah, no problem," she nodded.

Sam walked down the hall and saw the room Lucas was in. She knocked and walked in, stopping when she saw Danny was still getting blood taken.

"I, uh, didn't you say you were done?"

"No," he said, gesturing to Brad to take over so he could get Sam out before Danny saw, but it was too late.

"Mommy, I'm done?"

"No, baby. Uncle Lucas is still doing some stuff," she said and quickly walked out, her heartbreaking when Danny started to cry. "I'm going to kill her."

"Why did you come in? I know it's your parental right and all," Lucas said quickly.

"Elizabeth said you called her and told me to come get him."

"No, I didn't," he said and glanced back when Danny started crying louder. "I'll calm Danny down, don't worry."

Sam stormed back to the desk, her heels echoing in the hallway. She was beyond done with Elizabeth's shit, especially when it was affecting her child.

"What is wrong with you?" Sam yelled as she stomped over to Jason and Elizabeth.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elizabeth said innocently.

"My son is hysterical crying because he thought he was done because you told me he was," she said, shaking with anger. "Are you really that desperate to be with Jason that you have to further harm my son in the process? Wasn't it enough denying him time with his dad, now you have to make an already miserable experience for him worse?"

"Is he okay," Jason asked, feeling himself get mad. "Should I go check on him?"

"No, Lucas has it handled," she said and turned back to Liz. "I'm done trying to be sympathetic to your delusions."

"You're making a scene, Sam," she said condescendingly. Jason grabbed Sam when he saw her lunge toward Elizabeth.

"What is going on here?" Epiphany asked as she walked over. "Do I need to ask you to leave?"

"No, but I want her nowhere near my son when he's here," Sam said, trying to calm down. "Danny is here for his usual check-up and is hysterical right now because she lied and said he was done and I could go get him."

"You're really going to believe her?" Elizabeth said, trying to save herself. She just wanted to talk to Jason alone, she didn't think it would cause this.

"I'll make a note of it, and I'll go check on Danny to see if he calmed down," Epiphany said, seeing how angry Sam was.

"Thank you," Jason said, practically carrying Sam away from Elizabeth. "You good?"

"Do I look good?"

"You're beautiful when you're angry and about to pounce," he said, trying to get her to relax. "I'm sure Danny is fine."

"That's not the point, Jason! She can't use our son to get in between us. Danny is off-limits!"

"I know, I agree. I'm just as mad as you are, but one of us has to stay calm and it's your turn to go off on her."

"Please tell me she really did give you an update on Jake," she sighed, trying to calm down.

"She did. Her and the boys are staying at Wyndemere since someone actually did break in while Jake was in the hospital and she's nervous to be there by herself."

"So let me guess, she asked you to stay over until she feels comfortable enough to be there?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, scratching at the back of his neck. "Which I said no too. I did that one night earlier on when Jake was scared and he thought I moved back in. I don't want to confuse him."

"So Cassadine Island instead of staying at the MetroCourt for a few nights?"

"Maybe her and Nikolas can concoct some evil scheme again," Jason said as he pulled Sam close and rested his hands on her waist. "Sit around the fire and laugh maniacally when they come up with a good one."

"Stop," Sam said, trying to contain her laughter but failing. "I have that image stuck in my head now."

"Your laugh is my favorite sound in the world," he said as he leaned down the kiss her. They were interrupted when Epiphany cleared her throat loudly.

"Mr. Danny is just fine and Dr. Jones is all done with him," Epiphany said as she carried Danny to them. "He was such a good boy he got a lollipop."

"Mommy! Daddy!" Danny said excited as he squirmed out of Epiphany's arms and ran to them.

"Thank you," Sam said as she picked him up. "All done?"

"Uncle Brad shoved tubes up his nose and made a walrus noise," Danny said through his giggles.

"I will be making sure all of those are thrown out," Epiphany grimaced.

"Thank you again for checking on him," Jason said.

"I'm sorry I had to."

"Mommy, can we go home now?"

"Of course, buddy," she said as she hugged him. "I just have to wait for Uncle Lucas to tell me that you're okay."

"Would you maybe want to hang out with your dad today?" Jason asked tentatively. "I know you have some work to catch up on. Maybe Danny can help me pick out a place to live."

"I don't see a problem with that," Sam said. "Want to go with Daddy?"

"Yeah!" Danny said excitedly as he reached for Jason. "Can I help pick out my big boy room?"

"Of course," Jason said, tickling his stomached. "That's why I need you to come with me."

"I'll wait here until Lucas comes out," she said as she walked with them to the elevators.

"You sure you'll be okay?" he asked, eyeing Elizabeth warily.

"I'll behave myself," she said with a smirk as she glanced over at Elizabeth. She grabbed Jason's jacket and pulled him close for a kiss. She went for it, letting Elizabeth know she was no longer a thought in Jason's mind and he was back with Sam.

"Ew, stop," she heard Danny whine. She laughed as they pulled away and saw Danny covering his eyes.

"I can't forgot my Danny," Sam said as she started kissing Danny's cheek.

"Mommy!"

"I can't help myself, I'm just so happy to have my boys back with me," she said loudly. "Have fun you two."

"Very nice," Jason laughed in her ear as he leaned in to kiss her one more time before leaving.

"Did you get your revenge?" Lucas asked. Sam turned around and saw his smirk.

"Not yet, but that was a start," she laughed. "How's Danny?"

"Healthy," he said and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Everything looks good."

"Was it hard to calm him down?"

"No, he was fine. He's a great kid," Lucas said with a smile. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"Yeah, well, she's not allowed near my kid. Her or her buddy Franco."

"They're friends?"

"Who knows? Jake has been doing art therapy, which is great the kid needs the help, but tumor or no tumor, he's still Franco and I still don't trust him."

"With good reason," Lucas agreed. "Does Jason know?"

"I don't really know how to tell him we thought Franco raped me and that Danny might have been his," she sighed. "I don't want him to go ballistic. He's still easing back into everything."

"Easing back into you?" he asked with a smirk.

"You're a pervert," she laughed loudly. "No, we're taking things slow and getting to know each other again."

"I'm glad. I'm happy when I see my sister happy," he said, bringing her in for a hug.

"What about you and 'Uncle' Brad?" she asked.

"We're planning the wedding," he said with a smile. They walked over to the bench to sit and talk. "Hopefully it won't be as eventful as Dad's wedding to Alexis."

"One can hope."

"That reminds me. I wanted to ask if you would be my unofficial 'best woman.'"

"I would be honored," she answered. "I am not one for wedding planning, though. Maxie did everything, and while nothing really worked out, my biggest contribution was telling Jason I ordered him a pink tux to get him to wake up."

"Interesting tactic."

"Pink is his favorite color," she smirked. "I planned to distract myself. But, you are my brother and I will help if you need me."

"Thanks," he said, standing up. "I should get back to work."

"Me too," she said. "Oh, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"I need a couple of vials that I can put DNA samples in and I need you not to ask me questions and keep it to yourself," Sam said, smiling sweetly up at him.

"I don't even want to know why, wait here," Lucas said.

Sam checked her emails as she waited for Lucas to come back. She must have gotten distracted because a man stepped off the elevator and bumped into her.

"Excuse me," he said. "I didn't see you."

"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention," she said. He looked familiar, but she passed it off as déjà vu.

"Would you be able to tell me where I can find Dr. Obrecht? I have a meeting with her about a job opening."

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't know. One of the nurses could help you," she said. "I'm Sam Morgan."

"Hamilton Finn," he said, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."


	7. VII.

Jason could tell Danny was getting tired and bored after visiting the third apartment he had hoped he would like.

"How about this place?"

"Nope," Danny said, shaking his head. "Too small, Daddy."

"I think your right, buddy," he sighed. "You want to go to the park or should I call Mom to drop you off?"

"Park!" he said excitedly.

"Let's go to the park."

* * *

Jason was pushing Danny on the swing when he felt someone grab onto his leg. He turned around and saw Aiden, with Cam and Jake following.

"Hey Aiden, how are you?"

"Good! My dad brought us to the park today," he said excitedly. "Hi Danny!"

"Hey Jason, looks like we had the same idea," Lucky said as he approached.

"Can we play with Danny, Dad?" Jake asked and Lucky and Jason looked at each other, unsure of whom he was addressing.

"Sure," Jason said. "Don't go too far though. Lucky and I need to see you guys."

"And be careful with Danny, he's much younger than you," Lucky added. "Cam and Jake, I'm counting on you both to watch out for Danny and Aiden."

"Okay," they nodded before taking Danny and Aiden's hands and walking over to the jungle gym.

"How is it being home?" Jason asked as they walked over to a bench to watch their boys play.

"It's really good," Lucky said. "I missed being with my boys."

"They missed you too. I could tell when I lived with them."

"I'm sorry for what Elizabeth did, and that I left when she told me, but I had hoped she would do the right thing after I talked to her," he sighed. "I know my mom knew too, and I'm sorry my family helped keep your identity a secret."

"It's done now," Jake shrugged. "It's Elizabeth's fault. She knew and let me become a father figure to her sons and was still going to marry me knowing I was already married to Sam."

"Things take a drastic turn in her life when it comes to you," Lucky said. "She saw you free and clear of the mob and took her chance. I'm sure if you were like this back then, she would have let you raise Jake and accepted your proposal."

"I proposed to Elizabeth?"

"After she told you that you were Jake's father," he said. "You wanted to do right by Jake, you always have."

"I still do," he said as he looked at the boys playing. "If I ask you something, will you keep it between us?"

"Sure."

"You ever question if Jake is yours and not mine?"

"Honestly? Sometimes," Lucky said. "Sometimes I think he has Lulu and my dad's eyes. I had light hair as a kid. But he looks so much like you that I just chalk it up to wishful thinking."

"Yeah," Jason said and trailed off. "Sam and I were talking because I had some questions."

"So you know the backstory?"

"I also know Elizabeth lied about Danny's DNA results to keep Sam and I apart, so I wouldn't be surprised if she's done it before that."

"You think she lied and that Jake is mine?"

"I think we should find out once and for all," Jason said. "If you do end up being his father, I just don't want to be cut out of his life. Elizabeth's not making it easy for me to spend time with him, or any of the boys for that matter, but I don't want him to think just because he's not my son biologically I don't love him anymore."

"We'll figure something out. I don't want him to think that either. Jake's been through enough, he doesn't need to think he's being abandoned."

"He hated Sam because he thought she was taking me away from him. That's obviously not true, but I don't want him to blame her even more," Jason said.

"We'll worry about that if it turns out he's mine," Lucky said. "How are we going to do this?"

"Sam's going to talk to Spinelli about having Ellie run the test. I don't want Elizabeth to catch wind of it. If you can, find a way to get anything that his DNA on it to me or Sam. I just want answers."

"You and me both."

* * *

Sam finished catching up on work that she fell behind on quicker than she thought, so she called Spinelli and hoped he wasn't too busy that he couldn't talk.

" _Fair Samantha_!" Spinelli said excitedly.

"Spinelli! How's everything?"

" _Uneventful_ ," he said. " _I'm sure yours and Stone Cold's reconciliation has been most eventful and more titillating than my life here_."

"What's wrong, Spinelli?"

" _Why would anything be wrong_?"

"Tell me."

" _I'm moving back to Port Charles with Georgie. I feel most awful that our arrangement has prevented Maximista from spending time with her daughter_."

"That's great! Maxie will be thrilled, and I'm very excited to have my partner back," Sam said, but knew something else was going on. "Is Ellie coming?"

" _I'm afraid not_ ," he sighed. " _At least not for now. Her time at the lab is not yet complete_."

"I don't mean to bring this up now because it sounds like an awful time, but I was hoping you and Ellie could do Jason a favor."

" _Anything for the newly returned Stone Cold_."

"I need you to run a DNA test. Jason's not sure if he or Lucky is Jake's dad and wants answers."

" _I always internally questioned the paternity of Young Jake. If he is in fact Lucky's, it would release Stone Cold from the grasp of Nurse Webber_   _once and for all_."

"Yes and no. Jason still wants to stay in Jake's life. Jason's been under the impression that he's Jake's father for years, and Jake has gotten close to him. I wouldn't want that bond to break just because of a DNA test."

" _You're a wonderful woman, Sam. Ellie and I would be honored to accept this quest for truth_."

"Thank you, Spinelli. I'll call when it's all together. Can't wait to see you."

* * *

Jason had texted pictures of Danny playing at the park to Sam, so she decided to head over there since she was done with her work for now. She spotted Jason standing by the monkey bars, watching Danny carefully as he tried to make his away across. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Excuse me, miss. I'm flattered, but I've got a really hot wife that I just started dating again," he said with a smirk as he turned around.

"Really hot, huh?"

"Smokin'," he said as he leaned down to kiss her. "Finished everything?"

"Yeah, all done. Spoke to Spinelli, too," she said as she shifted so she was curled into his side. "He is more than happy to help. Now we just have to get Lucky on board."

"Already done," he said as he pointed over to where Lucky was playing football with the boys. "He wants answers too."

"Maybe once we get this settled, it'll be easier for you to get to see Jake more often. She's kind of dangling Jake over your head to get you to see her, and she's clearly okay with using children. No matter what the tests say, I think it's important for you and Jake to stay close."

"How did I get so lucky?" he asked as he looked down at her.

"And I always thought I was the lucky one," she said.

"Mommy, did you see me?"

"Of course, baby," she said, squatting down to his level. "You did such a good job!"

"I did it all by myself," he said proudly.

"Hi Sam!" the boys said as they ran over. "Can we play on the swings with Danny?"

"Sure, just look out for him, okay?"

"We will," Jake said, taking Danny's hand and walking over to the swings.

"I don't want Danny or Jake to lose out on this in the future," Jason said as they walked behind them toward the swings.

"And they won't have to. You helped raise Michael and Morgan, and you treated them like your own. There's no reason that you can't do the same for Jake."

"Lucky agreed, so Elizabeth will be the obstacle."

"Well what else is new," she rolled her eyes. "How did the apartment hunt go?"

"Total bust," he sighed. "Not sure why it's so difficult. Danny wasn't really feeling them either, plus he started getting tired."

"I would have picked him up so you could have looked more."

"And miss a chance to play in the park with him? Today turned out just fine," he smiled.

"I know if I offer the room in the penthouse to you you're going to feel awkward, but it's always there for you," Sam said, shushing him when he went to speak. "You want your own place because you don't want to feel like you did when Elizabeth took you in, and I really get it. She took care of you, you started to fall for her and ended up in that mess."

"Good choice of words," he smirked.

"I'm just leaving the option open. We were roommates for years, before we started dating. You helped me out, and now I'm returning the favor."

"We weren't dating when we lived together?"

"Nope, and I had my own place when we were dating the second time around. We did things backward," she shrugged. "I got to know you and started to fall for you, but we were friends first."

"Thank you for that," he said. "I wouldn't want to be a burden."

"Please," she scoffed. "If anything, Danny and I would be the burden. I don't cook, you do."

"You two are far from a burden."

"Don't feel obligated to give me an answer," Sam reassured him. "The offer will always stand, even when you find your own place."

"I appreciate it," he said as he stood up from the swing he was sitting on and started to push Sam. "Does Danny play sports?"

"I tried soccer last year and he had zero interest in it, so I was thinking of signing him up for little league when it starts. Maybe he'll like baseball."

"Since its starting to warm up, maybe I can take him here to play catch on the weekends."

"That would be great," she said, laughing as Jason began to push her higher. "Jason!"

"Don't tell me you're scared," he laughed as he grabbed the chains to stop her. "You climb walls on castles, yet you're scared of being on a swing."

"I am not scared," she said in indignation.

"Scaredy cat," he whispered in her ear before pushing her again. Lucky walked over to them and smiled as he saw Jason and Sam interact.

"Looks like the lovebirds are having fun," he said.

"Lucky! How are you?" Sam said as she slowed down, hopping off the swing to give him a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"You too," he said. "Looks like all our boys are enjoying themselves."

"I'm glad they get to spend time together. Danny's always hanging around with me, and while I love it, I want him to spend time with other kids."

"They're staying over at Wyndemere with Nikolas if you want to drop Danny off there, I'm sure Nik wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Jason said.

"I'm not exactly on speaking terms with my cousin," Sam explained. "He was the first to know about Jason being Jason and kept it from us. Decided he could tell Elizabeth, but not tell me – his family – that my husband was alive."

"I'm sorry you two have been through so much."

"Just adding it to the list," Sam shrugged as she took Jason's hand. "We're back together, that's all that matters."

"Daddy, I'm tired," Danny said as he ran over to them. Jason picked him up and smiled when Danny rested his head on his shoulder.

"I should probably get the boys back too before it gets cold. That boat ride can be brutal," Lucky said. "How should I collect a sample from Jake?"

"I got these from Lucas earlier," Sam said, pulling a handful of vials out of her pocket. "Figure something out and label it with your names."

"Dad, I don't want my gum anymore," Jake said as he walked over to the group. "I don't see a garbage can."

"Here, spit it out in here," Lucky said, taking the vial from Sam. "I'll throw it out when I see a garbage."

"Thanks!" Jake said, spitting into the vial. Lucky pulled him in for a hug and rubbed his head, pulling out some hair in the process. "Dad!"

"Sorry buddy. Go get your brothers, we're going to head back to Uncle Nik's."

"As gross as that is, good job," Sam said, as she took the gum vial and put it in a plastic bag. "Now it's your turns."

"I don't have any gum," Jason said.

"Open wide," Sam rolled her eyes as she swabbed Jason's mouth. She turned to Lucky and did the same. "I'll package it and send it out to Spinelli tomorrow."

"Very efficient, Mrs. Morgan," Lucky said.

"She is the best P.I. money can buy," Jason said proudly.

"And I like you guy enough to do it free of charge," she said as she finished labeling who's who. "Let's pray this works."


	8. VIII.

Sam was about to get comfortable on the couch and catch up on some TV shows when she heard incessant knocking on her door. Her and Danny spent the night at the MetroCourt last night with Jason and they stayed up late watching movies. Danny had fallen asleep before the two of them, so Jason had put him to bed and quickly came back to her on the couch, where the movie they had on went forgotten. She was tired, but never been happier.

"Sam! Open up!"

"Oh God," Sam sighed as she finally got up to open the door. "What is it Maxie?"

"Why did I just get a text from Spinelli that he's moving back to Port Charles soon?"

"Because he is? You couldn't wait until later for this? I just dropped Danny off at school," she said as she moved aside for Maxie to storm in.

"Why is he moving back?"

"He wants Georgie to be able to spend time with you. He's doing it partially for you, Maxie. I don't see the problem."

"Is Ellie coming?"

"Not yet, she still has to work at the lab, but I'm assuming she's coming along when she can."

"Okay, good," she breathed a sigh of relief. "Nathan's been lying to me, and you know Spinelli is always the person I go to and I don't want Nathan to get the wrong idea again. I love him."

"Why has he been lying to you?"

"He won't tell me who Claudette is," she said with a huff. "And I told him I don't care, but you know me and he should know me too by now that I don't let things go. I'm Maxie Jones."

"Do you want me to look into it?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I want to know, and then if I do know he'll know that I know something and I'll act weird," she said quickly.

"Well, I'll look into it if you want. Just say the word."

"Thank you," Maxie said. "Is Jason here?"

"No, he's still living at the MetroCourt. The apartment hunt isn't going so well."

"Did you ever sell your apartment?"

"Uh, I think so? I actually don't know, I think Spinelli took care of it."

"He should just move back here. You kept the room Spinelli lived in as a guest bedroom and made the office into Danny's room. There's plenty of space," Maxie said.

"I offered it to him, but I can understand why he doesn't want to."

"You can understand why he doesn't want to live with you?"

"Well, yeah. He's trying not to repeat how he started his relationship with Elizabeth. He moved in with her, fell for her and got attached to the kids, didn't get to really explore who he is outside of her. He wants to find out who he is – past and present – and I get that."

"You two really are soulmates," Maxie said, shaking her head. "I'm positive you are the only person who ever fully understands Jason and all his Jason-isms."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I like to think I still understand him, that he's still the same deep down inside, but he's still different and I get worried when I don't know what he's thinking."

"That won't last for long. Its exciting, re-learning things about him."

"It is," Sam smiled. Her phone buzzed, so she checked it and saw it was from Jason. ' _Mailed it._ '

"Love notes?" Maxie asked.

"Uh, no," she said, not wanting to involve Maxie. "I left my mail by Jason's last night and he let me know he sent out my bills."

"How domestic," Maxie smirked. "I have to go, Crimson awaits. Can't wait to see what disaster strikes today."

"Don't worry about Spinelli coming, and just be excited to see Georgie."

"I'm so excited to see her," she smiled. "Thanks, Sam."

"Anytime," she said, walking her out. Sam sighed as she shut the door and made her way back to the couch. What Maxie said made her call Spinelli. So much for relaxing.

* * *

Jason was heading out of the MetroCourt when he ran into Carly and Michael. He was on his way to Sam's, but wanted to know how Morgan was doing so he stopped.

"Hey guys, how's everything?"

"Could be better," Michael sighed. Jason noticed Carly was close to tears. "Morgan's losing grip on reality and still refuses to go back on his medication."

"He needs to be committed,," Carly said. "We can't help him anymore if he won't help himself, and it kills me to see him like that. I don't know what to do."

"We're on our way to see him."

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"I think Morgan would really like that," Carly said, wiping at her eyes. "I would really like that."

Jason stood outside in the hallway with Carly while Michael was with Morgan. He could see that Morgan was getting agitated by whatever Michael was telling him.

"You know I named him after you, right?" Carly said. "You were a huge part of his life, always watched out for him. I sent him away to boarding school to keep him out of Sonny's business, but that didn't do much good."

"I'm sorry I don't remember," Jason said. "You did your best. He needs help and he doesn't realize it yet."

"He thinks Sonny and I want to get rid of him because we can't be bothered to help him. He doesn't see that this is out of our hands now, that we've done all that we can do."

"He's not in the right state of mind. He'll realize once he gets help."

"I don't know," Carly said, choking up. "I don't know if he'll ever forgive us for sending him away."

"Carly," Molly said as she approached them. "Hi Jason."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if it would be all right if I talked to Morgan?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Carly said. "I think he'd like that."

"You and Morgan are friends?" Jason asked.

"He is my cousin. We used to be close when we were younger, always getting ourselves into trouble," she said with a smile.

"All the kids used to be closer than they are now," Carly explained.

"Hey Molly," Michael said as he came out. "You here to see Morgan?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Do you mind if I go in now?"

"No, go ahead. He'll be happy to see you," Michael said.

Molly walked in and was heartbroken seeing Morgan chained to the bed, since he was deemed a harm to himself. She couldn't believe how far gone he was, and only hoped that she could help him find his way back to the Morgan she knew when they were kids.

"Hey Morgan," she said as she sat down next to him. "How are you doing?"

"Really?" he asked, pulling at the cuffs. "Not so good."

"Right, sorry," she said awkwardly. "How did we get so distant? You were my best friend when we were kids."

"Dunno," he shrugged. "Listen, Molly, I really appreciate you coming here, but I don't think I'm up to taking this trip down memory lane. I have to get better for Kiki so I can be a better boyfriend for her."

"Morgan, you have to get better for yourself. This isn't you. You need help."

"I'm fine, Molly."

"Obviously not," she scoffed. "Why did you go off your meds?"

"They weren't working."

"Then why didn't you talk to Dr. Maddox about getting the dosage changed?"

"Because," he lashed out. "I didn't feel right on them, Molly. I couldn't be the man Kiki needed me to be."

"A side effect can be impotence," she said, finally figuring it out. "Once you adjust, it gets better. Look at Uncle Sonny, he doesn't seem to be having issues with that."

"I am not talking about this with you, Molly," Morgan said. "Just go back to your perfect life."

"My life is far from perfect. All of our lives are far from perfect, and that's what makes it life, Morgan. We make the best decisions we can for ourselves, and that's how we survive it. You're not doing that right now."

"I don't know what to do," he said, breaking down. "Mom and Dad are going to send me away, I know it. They don't love me enough to help me."

"They love you so much that they are willing to accept the fact that your disease has gone past what they can help with," Molly said, feeling herself get teary. "I know it doesn't seem like that right now, but no one is just sending you away to get rid of you. We all love you and want you back. You're not you."

"I don't think I'll ever be myself again. I have no control over my life."

"I have faith that you will, you just need to be open to the help that is being offered to you at all turns," Molly reassured him. "And I will always be around for you to talk to."

"Thank you," he said. "I do miss the good times we had when we were younger. Especially when we used to barge in on Sam and Jason at all hours of the day."

"I'm sure they don't miss that," she laughed. "Once you're feeling better we'll do that again for old-times sake. I'm sure they'll appreciate it."

"Sam and Jason are back together?"

"Uh, I think so," she said. "Jason's outside with your mom. Do you want to talk to him?"

"No," Morgan said quickly. "He doesn't remember me, he's like a stranger. I don't know if I can handle that."

"I understand," Molly nodded. "I'll come by again soon, okay?"

"Okay," he said. Molly leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"Get better," she said as she left. Carly was watching as Molly wiped at the tears that fell and went over to hug her.

"I don't know what you two talked about, but I'm sure it helped him," she said. "Thank you."

"I just want him to get better," she said. "Um, not to make you uncomfortable, Jason, but if you were going to talk to Morgan, it's not really a good idea."

"How come?" Carly asked. She had hoped Jason would be able to talk sense into Morgan.

"He knows Jason doesn't remember him, and he thinks it'll upset him too much talking to him as an old friend when it's only a unilateral feeling."

"I understand," Jason said. "I wouldn't know what to say anyway."

"However, I did promise him that we'd barge in on you and Sam like we did in the old days once he gets better," Molly said with a smile. "I have to head back to school to get some work done, but thank you for letting me see him."

"You moving back in with Sam soon?" Carly asked.

"Still looking for an apartment," he said. "Sam offered me the guest room in the penthouse, but I said no."

"What? Why?"

"I need some time to get to know who I am, and I think living with the woman I'm seeing and married to wouldn't help that along."

"I could see that," she shrugged. Dr. Maddox came to check in with Morgan, so they decided to walk toward the lobby of the hospital to give them some privacy. "Sam was okay with that?"

"More than okay, actually. She was the one who put it into words why I felt uncomfortable accepting her offer."

"She's always known you better than you knew yourself. Besides me, of course, but I'm just too hot-headed to be rational like she is," Carly said. "I've been praising Sam way too much lately, this is unnatural."

"I'm sure," he laughed.

"Jason," Elizabeth said as she tapped him on his shoulder. He grimaced and Carly laughed at the pained look that filled his face.

"Yes?"

"Lucky told me you were at the park yesterday with Danny and the boys all had a good time together," she said. "They've really missed you."

"It was nice to see them," he said, trying to figure out what she was getting at.

"Maybe once you find your own place we can come visit," she said.

"The boys are always welcome."

"And me?"

"Not you," he said and Carly held back a laugh.

"I don't really feel comfortable having my boys around Sam," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms across her chest. "Especially Jake. I don't want her to get the wrong impression. He's our son."

"I think the only one with the wrong impression is you, and I'm getting very tired of these conversations," he sighed. "When you can act like a reasonable adult, we'll figure something out."

"Is that a new doctor?" Carly asked, changing the subject abruptly. "Haven't seen him around before."

"Dr. Finn is a new hire, yes," Elizabeth said.

"Looks like General Hospital is stocking up with attractive doctors for you to latch onto, Elizabeth," Carly said with a smirk. Elizabeth glared at her before walking away and getting back to work. "I think she needs to be committed."

"It's never a normal conversation. Always ends in the same way," he said.

"She'll get over it, maybe, who knows," Carly shrugged. "You hungry? Let's go back to the hotel."

* * *

Sam felt rather pleased with herself as she walked into the lobby of the MetroCourt. She was about to head up to Jason's room when she saw him and Carly in the restaurant. She walked over and smiled when Jason noticed her.

"Looking for me?" he asked as he stood up to greet her.

"No, I was meeting my other boyfriend upstairs," she smirked as she leaned up to kiss him. "Hi Carly."

"Want to join us?"

"If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Carly said as she called over for another chair to be added to the table.

"What did you guys do today?" Sam asked as she slipped her jacket off.

"Jason came to the hospital with me to see Morgan," Carly said. "Molly stopped by too."

"Oh good. I remember how close her and Morgan used to be."

"They were a good team," Carly said. "What brought you over here?"

"I might have an apartment for Jason," she said happily.

"Really?" he said. He was pretty sure he looked at everything.

"I totally forgot about it until Maxie stopped by this morning, and honestly I thought Spinelli sold it for me," she explained. "I still own my old apartment. You can move in there, if you like it. There's only one catch."

"What's the catch?"

"Spinelli didn't forgot about it and was hoping to stay there while he was here until he found a place of his own," she said. "He was going to call me about it."

"Is Spinelli coming back to Port Charles for good?" Carly asked.

"I think so," Sam nodded. "He said there's an apartment in Maxie's building that's open but he wants to look at it before he makes a decision. He wants Maxie and Georgie to spend time together, so he figures being in the same building will help with that."

"Does Maxie know about this?" Carly asked with a smirk.

"She knows he's coming back. His plans on living down the hall I think she's still in the dark about," Sam said. "I thought it would be best for him to spring that one on her, like when he moves in."

"So I'd just have to be roommates with Spinelli and his daughter for a little while?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, if you wanted to move in right away. I know you're slumming it here at the MetroCourt," Sam teased him. "But Spinelli promised it was only temporary."

"I'm sure I can find a place to live, I don't want to put Spinelli and his daughter out."

"I told him he could stay there permanently, or even live with me and Danny for however long," Sam reassured him. "He said 'he profited off of our kindness for many years and did not want to take advantage of our benevolent ways.' Word for word."

"Good to see he hasn't changed," Carly said. "Sam's apartment was amazing. I used to barge in there when I couldn't find you at the penthouse."

"Yeah, let's hope that habit has changed," Sam said, glancing over at Carly.

"Only time will tell," she shrugged.

"Okay, you got yourself a tenant," Jason said, gently nudging Sam. "I'll move in once Spinelli is settled, if he likes the apartment in Maxie's building."

"You want to check it out?"

"I'll take your word for it," he shrugged. "Apartment hunting lost its appeal after the first twenty apartments I visited."

"You'll see it when we visit Spinelli," she said. "Congrats, you're almost an official grown-up."

"I am a grown-up," he scoffed.

"You live in a hotel, you don't have a job. I don't know if you qualify as a grown-up."

"Says the woman who can't cook or clean," he shot back, poking her in the side.

"I'll give you that," she laughed.

"I can see why you two always ended up back with each other," Carly said with a smile. She never took the time to actually see how well suited Sam and Jason were for each other, she was always so focused on the idea of Sam taking Jason from her. Now that she's formed some semblance of a friendship with Sam and has really seen how great they are together, she realizes how stupid she's been all these years.

"Careful, Carly. You've been really nice to me lately," Sam said.

"Don't get used to it," she laughed. "But really, you two are perfect for each other."

"Glad to have your vote of approval," Jason said, taking Sam's hand in his. "Hopefully I'll remember why."

"Even if you don't, I'm very happy with how things are now," Sam said, kissing his cheek. "We're together, that's all that ever mattered."


	9. IX.

Sam was busy making sure her apartment was ready for Spinelli and Georgie's arrival. She missed Spinelli so much and was thrilled that he was finally moving back. She was surprised when he said he was coming so soon, but was even more shocked when he said he would have been here sooner but he was waiting for the lab results. Jason and Lucky would hopefully finally have the answer to the question they always wondered. Sam sent Jason to pick up Spinelli, which he reluctantly agreed to.

"Mommy, when is Spinelli coming?" Danny asked, looking up from his iPad game.

"Soon. You excited to see him?"

"He talks funny," Danny giggled.

"And we're here," Jason said as he opened the door.

"Salutations Fair Samantha and Young Daniel" Spinelli said as he walked in with Georgie. Sam saw the bags piled up in the hallway.

"I told you he talks funny," Danny said, laughing even harder.

"Danny! Be nice and say hello," Sam scolded him as she walked into the hallway by Jason.

"He's not wrong," Jason muttered, earning a punch in the arm from Sam. "Ow! I just carried all these up, be gentle."

"Please," she scoffed. "You're a big, strong man. You handled it."

"Someone's sassy," he said, backing her against the wall in the hallway. "What happened to 'being nice'? You should be setting an example for our son,"

"You used to be funnier," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think because you didn't talk so much."

"Is that –," he was cut off when Sam pushed up on her toes to kiss him. His arms went around her hips and picked her up, her legs wrapped around waist as he pushed her into the wall. They hadn't been able to spend much time alone in the past few weeks, and their desire for one another was reaching its breaking point.

"Some things never change," Spinelli said as he walked out into the hallway. Sam jolted and Jason groaned, letting her down gently. "Remember when you asked him to take you back upstairs in front of Maxie, Robin, Patrick, Molly and Kristina?"

"Vividly," Sam muttered. "Not one of my finer moments, but I stand by it."

"I'm sorry, what?" Jason asked, wishing he had his memories back because that sounded like a good one.

"You and Samantha reconciled and were engaged in relations and didn't know Maxie and I were wedding planning in your living room downstairs," Spinelli said as he began to bring his bags inside.

"I'd like to be still engaged in relations right now," Jason whispered in Sam's ear. She rolled her eyes and smiled as she helped Spinelli bring his stuff in.

"It was never a dull moment with you as a roommate, Spinelli," Sam said. "My favorite was how you fawned over 'The Divine One.' I thought Jason was going to shoot you at one point."

"Yes, well my younger self was infatuated with the lovely Brenda Barrett," he said, feeling a blush rise in his cheeks. "I believe we're even for embarrassing story-sharing."

"Now we'll have more to share since you're back," she said, hugging him.

"I think we have a more pressing story to share," Spinelli said as he pulled out of his pocket an envelope. "Ellie made sure to have run these before I arrived, and was as precise as possible."

"We should head over to Wyndemere," Sam said. "Open it there so there are no accusations, like that I changed the results if it turns out Lucky is the father."

"Should we get this over with now?" Jason asked.

"What shall we do with the young ones?"

"We can drop them off by my mom's," Sam said as she began to gather Danny's stuff. "Her, Molly, and Kristina are home. They'd love to see Georgie."

"Splendid," Spinelli said as he put the baby bag over his shoulder and picked up Georgie. "I have a second car seat in the hallway."

"I got it," Jason said. Sam went over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"No matter what, you will be an important part of Jake's life," Sam reassured him.

"I hope so," he said as he pulled away from Sam and went into the hallway.

* * *

Sam tried to calm herself as she knocked on the door. They arrived to Spoon Island quicker than anticipated and Sam was getting worried about the fallout of this reveal. She knew Jason and Lucky both deserved answers, but that didn't ease her anxiety.

"Hello," Laura said when she answered the door. "Come in. How are you?"

"We're good," Jason said. "We're here to see Lucky and Elizabeth."

"Oh, okay. Well, Elizabeth should be on her way back from bringing the boys to school," Laura said as she led them into the living room. "Lucky's here, I'll go find him."

"Thank you," Sam said.

"I never got to really apologize to you for keeping Jason's identity a secret. I'm truly sorry, I did want to do the right thing," she said. "I'm very glad it came out and you two seem to be happy."

"Thank you, we are," Sam smiled. "You were protecting your son, I can understand that. Apology accepted."

"Mother," Nikolas said as he walked into the living room and stopped. "I didn't know we had guests."

"We're here to see Lucky and Elizabeth," Jason said.

"Well that can't mean anything good."

"I'm going to find your brother. Behave," Laura said as she left the room.

"How's Spencer doing?" Sam asked, trying to ease the tension. "Is his bow tie business going well?"

"Yes, very well," Nikolas said.

"When he comes home, I think I'll buy a few for Danny."

"He'd love that," Nikolas smiled. He missed the relationship he had with Sam, he wished he never ruined it to follow Helena's orders, but he was in too deep and couldn't figure out a way to dig himself out of the hole he was in. "May I ask why there is an impromptu meeting in my living room?"

"Getting more answers," Jason said roughly. "You wouldn't happen to be hiding anything else, would you?"

"No, I am not. I don't even know what you're talking about."

"We're just waiting on Elizabeth now to find out who Jake's father really is," Lucky said as he walked in. "Thanks for coming here."

"Shall we find out or wait for Elizabeth?" Spinelli asked as he pulled out the envelope.

"Wait, I want her to see were opening a sealed envelope," Sam said.

"Are we really digging this up again?" Nikolas asked.

"I need to know, Nik. I've always wondered, and now that Jason is questioning if Liz lied, I think we both need the answer," Lucky said.

"You really think she's capable of that? Lying about the father of her child?"

"If it meant holding on to Jason, then yes."

"Nikolas, you saw how easy it was for her to keep Jason's identity a secret when you told her," Sam reasoned. "She let Patrick and I continue to form a life together knowing that Jason was my husband."

"So did I," Nikolas countered.

"So you wanted to keep my husband all for yourself because you knew the minute he found out who he was he'd leave you?"

"Fair enough."

"Nikolas, I'm back," Elizabeth called out as she walked in. She froze when she saw everyone sitting around. "What's going on?"

"Who's Jake's father?" Jason asked her outright.

"You are."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," she said angrily. "What has she been telling you?"

"My wife," Jason emphasized. "Has said nothing because she's a good person. I noticed how much alike Lucky and Jake are and began to question it."

"Liz, was there any chance when you had the DNA test done it was tampered with?" Lucky asked.

"No, I don't think so. It said Jake was Jason's," she said. "Why are you accusing me?"

"We're not," Lucky said. "We just needed answers."

"You got your answer, the same answer I gave you years ago," Elizabeth said.

"Well, seeing how I don't trust you, I had a DNA test done to find out," Jason said and she gasped. He took the envelope out of Spinelli's hands and began to open it.

"Nikokas," Elizabeth pleaded him with her eyes to do something. Nikolas went to intervene, but Sam stopped him.

"Please, Nikolas. I'm your family," Sam whispered.

"Hasn't Elizabeth been through enough?"

"Haven't I? Hasn't Jason? You'd want to know if it was Spencer," Sam begged. "Think of Lucky. If you won't help me out, then do it for your brother."

"Why turn things upside down over an old issue?"

"Because it's important to them. I know my cousin is still in there somewhere, please," Sam said. He nodded and stood back; Elizabeth began to sob.

"What did the tests reveal?" Spinelli asked.

"He's not my son," Jason said, the heartbreak evident in his voice. "He's Lucky's."

"He is?" Lucky said happily as Elizabeth continued to cry. "How could this be?"

"You think Helena had her hand in this?" Sam asked and Nikolas shrugged.

"She might have, that woman is capable of anything," Nikolas said. "Maybe it was an elaborate plan to destroy the Spencers once and for all using Jake, and the pay off would be they were hurt by one of their own. She kidnapped him for a reason."

"That's sick," Lucky said.

"I swear I didn't know," Elizabeth said. "I'm not as crazy as she's made me out to be."

"Sam's been trying to talk me down since I've asked her about it," Jason said. "No one is out to get you but yourself."

"How do we even know that hasn't been tampered with?"

"Ellie performed the test and she works with ethical integrity. She would never purposely change the results," Spinelli said.

"I would think if they were tampered with, it would have said Jason was the father," Nikolas chimed in.

"Not if Sam wants me out of the picture. Jason not being Jake's father means he never has to speak to me or my children again."

"You might be heartless enough to keep my son from his father, but Jake and Jason have a relationship that I don't want to see destroyed," Sam said.

"I need some time to think," Jason said, storming out of the house. Elizabeth went to go after him, but Lucky stopped her.

"I need to talk to him, I need for him to believe me," she said frantically.

"I need for you to leave my husband alone and let him process what just happened," Sam said. "He needs time to himself."

"What if he doesn't come back?"

"He always comes back," she shrugged. "Always comes back to me, anyway."

"I'll bring Jake by soon for Jason to talk to him," Lucky said and Sam nodded.

"Thank you, Nikolas. I'll be back with Danny one day for bow ties," she said. She was still hurt by what he did, but he did the right thing today and she hoped it was a step in the right direction. "Come on, Spinelli."

"How will we return if Stone Cold has gone off?"

"He probably went for a ride on his bike,"she said. She hoped he was okay, but knew he'd talk to her when he was ready. "He'll come back soon."

* * *

Sam was officially getting worried. She sent him a couple of texts that went unanswered and when she called it went straight to voicemail. She just needed to know he was safe, she felt her anxiety growing with each hour she didn't hear from him. She left Danny with her mom and decided to go looking for him. Sam first checked the bridge he liked to go to, but he wasn't there. She struck out at the MetroCourt and the roof of her apartment, too. She decided to take a chance and head out to his cabin in the woods. She had no idea if he remembered the cabin, but prayed his instincts took over and brought him here because she wouldn't know where else to go. She pulled up and cried out in relief when she saw his bike outside. She knocked on the door before entering.

"I know you wanted to be alone, but I started to get worried," she said as she walked in. "Consequences of you dying, I guess."

"What is this place?"

"It's yours, you built it," she said. "You used to come out here to think and escape. There used to be a box car and when they got rid of it, you decided to build this cabin."

"I just wanted to go for a ride to clear my head and I ended up here. It feels familiar, but I don't remember it," he said as he knocked over a chair. "I'm so sick of not knowing who I am, what to believe, who I can trust. The little bit of myself that I know is falling apart."

"Do you believe me?" she asked, placing her hands on his cheeks to get him to calm down.

"You've been the only person in my life that I can believe in," he said. "And I'm scared that's going to fall apart too."

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going to lie to you. I will tell you every horrible thing I've done since I came to Port Charles and met you, if that will make you feel better. You are why I am the person I am today, and I hate how lost you are right now."

"Just tell me this," he said and she nodded. "We both did and said pretty bad stuff to each other at some point in our years knowing each other, I'm gathering."

"Oh yeah," she laughed.

"But we ended up married with a son – who is mine – despite it all."

"Our love for each other overcame every nasty, low-ball thing we've ever said or done. There were many, many more good moments we shared than bad. Our love brought out the best in each other 90% of the time."

"That's all I need to know then," he said as he brought her close. "Danny is mine, right?"

"Yes," she said. "I have the DNA test to prove it,"

"There was a doubt?"

"I, uh," she said, struggling how to tell him what happened. "Not in the same way as Jake."

"What do you mean?"

"We thought I was raped on our honeymoon," she whispered and Jason was shocked. "Um, Franco had a brain tumor that caused him to do heinous things in the past. He was obsessed with you and made it seem like he raped me. We thought he was your twin, and DNA tests were switched by this crazy woman Heather Webber, so you died thinking Danny was Franco's and not yours."

"Franco as in the guy at the hospital who works with Jake," he asked, feeling his blood boil. Sam nodded and he was fuming. "I'm going to kill him."

"You can't. I can't handle losing you again to Pentonville," Sam said defiantly, wiping at the tears that were falling. "I hate him and wish he was dead, but we have a son who needs us. If this was a different time, I'd go after him with you; but we have Danny to think about."

"Why is he working with children?"

"He was deemed a different person and acquitted," Sam explained. "Jason, please calm down."

"I can't."

"Promise me you won't go after Franco."

"I can't do that."

"And I can't lose you again," she argued. "I just got you back, I'm not losing you again because of Franco. He took enough from us."

"It's not."

"You go after him and I'm gone," she gave him an ultimatum. "I need you. Our son needs you."

They stood in silence for a while, waiting for the other one to make a move. Sam walked over to the bed and sat down. She said what she needed to say, so she was going to wait on him. He sighed and ran his hand over his face before sitting down next to her on the bed.

"I hate this, Sam," he said quietly. "I just want to remember."

"You will," she said.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said as he pulled her close. "I'm not going to do anything that will jeopardize our life together."

"I know," she said as she nuzzled into his chest. "Even though it sounded like it, I wouldn't let you go without a fight. I'd visit you in Pentonville everyday if I had to."

"You've promised that before," he said after a moment.

"I have," she smiled as she looked up at him. "I also pretended to be your ex-wife to get a conjugal visit. We made a bad situation work. You are the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with, Jason. You've always been that person. The only reason I moved on was Robin told Patrick you died in that fire and I thought you were gone forever, but you weren't."

"You waited for me and held out hope for so long, if Patrick never tried to find Robin, you'd still be waiting," he said, amazing at the love she had for him.

"I would have kept looking. I wasn't giving up on us," she said quietly.

"And while you thought I was dead, I was in Elizabeth's bed," he said angrily.

"But now we're in our bed," she said with a smile, trying not to get on the topic of her. "You brought me here the night of our wedding and I was so happy you shared this place with me because it told me you really saw us as an 'us'; that you weren't on your own anymore, and that I wasn't either."

"I wish I could remember these special moments we had together more than just flashing images that disappear as quickly as they came," he said as he took her hand in his. "But I know how I feel for you now and I know you are the person I want to spend my life with."

"I miss the life we shared, the life that we were starting to rebuild after it was ripped out from under us," she confessed. "But knowing you're alive has allowed me to stop living in the past, and if I have to be honest with myself, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm really falling for you, Jason. I'm falling for you all over again, regardless of your memories."

"You really think you can love me even if I can't remember anything about my past?"

"If I didn't, I would have ended this a long time ago," she told him. "I wouldn't put myself through the pain because I don't think I could have handled it."

"I thought what I felt for Elizabeth was love," he said after a moment, absorbing what she told him. "So I'm not sure I know what I'm really feeling anymore, but I do know that I care about you so much more than I did for her."

"I'll take it," she laughed.

"I'm glad I found this place again, and that you're the person I get to share it with," he said, kissing her forehead. "You think I can live here?"

"It's a bit of a hike to get to," she laughed. "You can stay the night here, if you want."

"Can you stay the night?"

"Danny is with my mom, I packed him a bag," Sam said as she leaned against the headboard of the mattress. "It's a good thing I came up here every once in a while to clean up."

"You clean?"

"I made sure the animals stayed out," she rolled her eyes. He hovered over her and smiled.

"Thank you for being you," he said as he leaned down to kiss her. "So, tell me more about that conjugal visit."

"Well," she said with a smirk as straddled him. "I'll show you the PG version."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I feel like I should explain my decision to make Jake Lucky's and not Jason:
> 
> 1\. My decision is based upon genetics. All the men who have played Lucky have had light eyes (Young & Jackson both have blue) & Herbst has blue eyes. Also, all the Spencers are blonde (except Ethan, but Holly has dark hair) & Elizabeth's sister was a blonde - so since blonde is recessive it would make sense for Jake to have blue eyes and blonde hair. Yes, this applies to Jason as well, which is what I think the writers wanted.
> 
> 2\. Josslyn has Jake's kidneys - the biggest plot hole in his return story which I hope they address soon. Carly is a Spencer, and in living donor situations they usually turn to family members first. Yes, Jake was dead but I would think that logic still applies. This furthers my belief that Jake is a Spencer and not a Morgan.
> 
> 3\. Helena had it out for the Spencers, so why take Jason Morgan's son? I get taking Jason himself because he was the "enforcer" and the perfect "soldier" for her to have control over; but taking Jake for being a Morgan or a Webber? I don't get it. Taking Luke's first grandson is what makes sense.
> 
> 4\. I think they casted Jake so there would be ambiguities. I think bringing him back will be a way to address this, because he's had no point in the show so far except confusing the crap out of everyone and being a catalyst to get Liz and Franco to talk, which continues the confusion.
> 
> I wouldn't usually take the time to lay out why I chose the way I did, but I feel like this is a polarizing issue that some stories have taken that Jake gets forgotten forever by Jason and I don't want anyone to think that. I also didn't chose that way so Jason no longer has an obligation to Liz, because him co-parenting would mean he needs to be there for Jake, not Elizabeth. For me, Jake being a Spencer is the most logical endgame.


	10. X.

"You okay?" Sam asked as they stepped off the elevator in the MetroCourt. Sam and Danny went to help Jason pack up his belongings since Spinelli and Georgie had moved out from Sam's apartment and into the apartment he found in Maxie's building. Sam was pretty sure he still didn't let Maxie in on that yet, but hoped she took it well. The three of them were heading into the restaurant where Jason was supposed to meet with Jake.

"I don't know how he's going to feel about this," Jason said. "I know Lucky talked to him and he's always thought of Lucky as his dad, but he got so attached to the idea of Elizabeth and I being a family that I'm worried."

"Lucky wouldn't have called us if he didn't think Jake was ready to see you," Sam said, trying to reassure him. "It'll be okay, he'll adjust."

"Thanks for being here," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

"Danny and I will be over here," she said as she headed toward the bar.

"Usually we don't allow kids at the bar, but I'll make an exception for this cutie," Carly said as she leaned over the bar. "What brings the Morgan family here?"

"Jason is waiting for Jake and Lucky to come."

"What happened?"

"Jake isn't Jason's son, he's Lucky's," Sam said and Carly gasped.

"Did she know the whole time and lied about that too?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged as she shifted Danny to her lap. "I really don't think so, but even if she did it doesn't matter."

"You're very calm about this. Jake kept you and Jason apart for longer than necessary."

"I know, but it's in the past and we're together now. Too many people are affected by this so there's no need to push the issue," Sam said. "It explains why Jake was a match for Josslyn though."

"Hey," Lucky said as he sat down next to Sam. "How's everyone doing?"

"We're good. How's Jake?"

"I think he's okay," he said. "He's been spending more time with me and the boys. I told Elizabeth I'd move into her place and make sure it was okay for them to come back."

"I'm sure it is," Sam said. "They should start to get back to normal, it'll make everything easier."

"That's what I said."

"What's wrong with her house?"

"She said someone broke in when Jake was in the hospital," Lucky explained.

"And this was before you came back to town, right?" Carly asked and he nodded. "Obviously she was trying to get Jason back in her trap. She's probably got a cage in her basement to keep him in so he can't go back to Sam."

"Carly," Sam admonished her, but was trying not to laugh. "That's just ridiculous."

"Really? Is it really that ridiculous? She trapped Jason for years by telling him Jake was his, and then trapped him again by not telling anyone his identity so she could marry him."

"We don't know for sure she lied," Lucky said.

"Exactly, and like I said before, it doesn't matter. What matters is the truth is finally out there," Sam said. "And hopefully Jake will be able to adapt."

* * *

Jason smiled at Jake as he ate the ice cream he ordered. He glanced over at the bar and saw Sam and Danny with Lucky and Carly. He wasn't sure how to bring this up, trying to think of something to say.

"My dad told me," Jake finally said. "He said that you weren't really my dad."

"No, I'm not," Jason sighed. "And I'm sorry that you had to find out now. Just because I'm not your dad doesn't mean I don't want to be part of your life."

"My dad said that too. He said that you both care about me and that's what's important."

"Your dad is right," Jason said, grateful that Lucky talked to Jake and not Elizabeth. "You're always welcome to spend time with Danny, Sam and me."

"I'm sorry I was always so mean to Sam. She's really nice. My mom would say mean things and I would think I wasn't supposed to like her," Jake confessed and Jason clenched his fists in anger.

"And I'm sorry your mom made you feel like that. You can come to either of us for anything, Sam cares about you too."

"It was getting confusing having two dads," Jake said and Jason laughed. "I liked having you as my dad, but my dad has always been my dad."

"I know, buddy," Jason said. "You want to say hi to Danny?"

"Yeah," he said happily. They headed over to the bar and Sam was relieved to see Jason didn't seem upset.

"Jake wanted to say hi to Danny before we left," Jason said.

"You guys have a good lunch?" Sam asked.

"Jason got me ice cream," Jake said with a smile as he played with Danny.

"Aren't you lucky, you got ice cream for lunch. Don't let your brothers know," Lucky said. "Everything good?"

"Yeah," Jason nodded as he wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulders. "You think you'll be staying around for a while?"

"Yeah," Lucky nodded.

"Good, you're a good influence on the boys."

"Just don't go back to Elizabeth," Carly pleaded. "Maybe she can sink her claws into that new doctor. I saw him the other day when I had to fill out paperwork for Morgan's transfer. Whatever Molly said to him worked because he was more willing to get treatment than before."

"Good, I'm glad," Sam said. "What new doctor? Lucas' friend?"

"No, that's Dr. Munro. I'm talking about Dr. Finn."

"He got the job then," Sam said. "I ran into him when I was leaving after Danny's appointment. He was looking for Obrecht for a meeting."

"He looked familiar, but I couldn't place it," Carly shrugged.

"I thought the same thing," Sam said. "The hospital was understaffed, especially once Patrick left, so it's a good thing."

"Yeah, as long as he doesn't do anything crazy," Carly said, thinking of Dr. Webber and Dr. Hunter who were both in prison. "GH should install revolving doors since everyone comes and goes."

"Maybe if they made Monica chief-of-staff again so many doctors wouldn't be leaving," Sam said. "Obrecht is crazy and hired Franco while he has no qualifications at all, but wouldn't let Robin do her research here."

"Let's not mention him," Jason said tensely as he ran his hand up and down Sam's back.

"He knows?" Carly whispered and Sam discreetly nodded. "Ah, okay. So I am going to get back to work, I'll catch up with you all later."

"What are your plans for the day?" Sam asked Lucky.

"Gonna head down to PCPD and find out about getting my old job back, and then get settled in at the house."

"You're staying with Elizabeth and the boys?" Jason asked.

"At least until I find my own place, maybe get my mom out of Wyndemere because I know that place creeps her out."

"Then Nikolas has to spend time with his wife, which he seems to not like to do," Sam said.

"Any idea where she came from?"

"Not a clue. She first pretended to be my wife, then got shot when she came by the garage when she said she had information for me," Jason said. "Don't know what else there is."

"If anything; she's ready for Elizabeth to leave," Sam said. "Good thing Lucky saved the day for everyone by coming back home."

"Funny," he said with a smirk. "Come on, Jake. We're going to pay your Uncle Dante a visit."

"And what do you two have planned," Jason asked as he sat down next to Sam, taking Danny from her."You doing anything fun today? Because if you are, Daddy wants in."

"You're silly," Danny laughed.

"I thought we'd help you move in," Sam said. "Then either celebrate or mourn the end of your hotel living days."

"Mommy's not going to cook dinner right?" Jason asked Danny and he shook his head.

"I'm not that bad," Sam tried, but they both gave her a look and she sighed. "Fine, I am."

"I'll cook tonight," Jason said. "As a thank you for helping me find a place and moving me in."

"Deal, let's get your stuff."

* * *

It took a couple of hours, but Jason was finally settled into his new apartment. Danny was excited that he had somewhere else to play and thought it was like a big sleepover. Sam put on Despicable Me to keep Danny occupied while she tried to help Jason in the kitchen.

"Don't touch it," Jason warned as she went to lift the pot cover.

"I wanted to help," she pouted as she wrapped her arms around him. "Do you have any dishes?"

"Paper plates and plastic cups," he said as he pointed to the grocery bags. "I'll buy the real stuff eventually."

"I have extra plate sets we got as gifts, if you want them," she offered as she opened up the plates. "I know how much you love shopping."

"I wouldn't mind shopping with you," he said, making her smile. "This is a really nice apartment."

"Thanks, I always liked it," she said as she set the table. "Danny, go wash up for dinner, okay?"

"Got it," Danny nodded, but didn't move from the couch.

"Now, mister," Sam said, pausing the movie. "I'm glad you like it, I wish I thought of it sooner."

"Any other places I can live that I've forgotten about?" Jason joked as he placed the food on the table.

"You have a house in Hawaii," she said. Jason thought she was kidding, but realized she was serious.

"Hawaii?"

"You've suffered from many brain injuries over the years, and ten years ago we thought you were dying and you didn't want to receive treatment," Sam explained as she busied herself to keep from getting emotional. "We moved there together so you could spend the end of your life in paradise."

"You uprooted your life here to come with me?"

"Well, it was Hawaii," she said, trying to make light of it. "I didn't have anyone except you and my brother Danny, and he wasn't in Port Charles at the time. I would have gone anywhere with you, I still would."

"Do we have happier memories in Hawaii?"

"We spent our honeymoon in Hawaii," she smiled, but he frowned. "Our honeymoon was amazing, Jason."

"Our honeymoon is where Franco made you think you were raped," he said quietly.

"I refuse to let him ruin my memories, and Hawaii is still my favorite place," she said. "You were so relaxed and carefree there."

"Maybe we can go back there soon and make new memories," he said, leaning over to kiss her. "And Danny can come too."

"Go where?" Danny asked, laughing as Jason ruffled his hair.

"Hawaii," Sam said dramatically.

"Is Legoland there?"

"I don't think so, but we can go surfing and swimming," Sam said to her unimpressed son. "No?"

"We should go to Legoland," Danny said as he nodded.

"We'll see buddy," Sam laughed as she scooped some pasta onto his plate.

Danny fell asleep earlier than usual, so Sam placed him in Jason's bed until she was ready to bring him home. Her and Jason were sitting at the dining room table playing dominoes.

"We used to play this drunk all the time," Sam said as she placed her domino.

"I've got some tequila," Jason offered. He stood up and went into the kitchen to grab the bottle and two glasses.

"I have to get Danny home tonight, I can't," she said.

"Stay the night," he said. "Danny's already asleep, he probably won't go back to sleep if you wake him up."

"I don't want to intrude, its your first night in your new place."

"If you really want to go home, I won't push," he said. "But you're not intruding. I want you to stay."

"Okay," she agreed after a moment. "One condition."

"What?"

"You have to make breakfast in the morning because I can promise I will be hungover in the morning," she said as she poured herself a shot and drank it quickly.

"Anything for my wife," he smiled as he poured her another one. "You ready to lose?"

"I'm ready to win," she smirked.

* * *

Sam woke up in the morning with a pounding headache and a strong aversion to the sun that was coming through the windows. She went to roll over but found herself trapped. She slightly opened her eyes and saw Jason asleep on top of her, his head resting on her chest. She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair, admiring his shirtless body, but then realizing her shirt was missing too.

"Well, this is a wonderful way to wake up," Jason mumbled, cringing as he moved to sit up. "I think we got a little carried away last night."

"I'm afraid that if I move my head might exploded," she said. "Any idea what happened after I won?"

"I think you're still drunk, because I'm pretty sure I won," he said as he laid back down. "Not really, clearly something good though."

"We didn't sleep together, did we?" she asked quietly.

"No, definitely not," he said, noticing she sounded concerned. "I'd definitely remember that."

"Oh good," she sighed in relief. "I don't want to rush anything, and I also don't want it to feel like we're in college."

"I don't remember if I went to college, so I'm just going to thank you for potentially giving me my first college experience," he said as he kissed her neck and she laughed.

"Jason Quartermaine was supposed to be a doctor," she told him. "After your accident with your brother, you woke up Jason Morgan."

"The enforcer," he said dramatically. "And then I woke up a robot for the Cassadines."

"But now you're you," she said, taking his face in her hands. "You've got a clean slate and you're in the best place to decide what you want to do now."

"First I have to get ELQ back," he sighed. "After that, maybe I'll move to Hawaii and not come back."

"Hey! That was my plan," she said indignantly.

"I guess you could come too," he shrugged as he leaned over her. "Might get pretty boring without you and Danny. Plus, I'd get to see you in a bikini every day."

"Mommy!" Danny called out from Jason's room.

"Duty calls," Sam said as she patted Jason's shoulder and rolled out from under him. "Any idea where my shirt is?"

"Take mine," he said as he admired the view. "I will get started on the breakfast I promised."

He brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face to wake up before heading into the kitchen. He was rifling through the fridge when he heard Danny crying. Jason went into his bedroom and saw Sam trying to calm Danny down, looking worried.

"Everything okay?"

"He has a fever, it feels high," she said, her hand pressed against his forehead. "I don't have my thermometer here."

"Why don't we just bring him to the hospital to get checked," Jason said, grabbing a clean shirt from his dresser.

"Yeah, okay," she said, running her hand through her hair. "I just have to brush my teeth. You find my shirt?"

"No," he shook his head as he sat on the bed next to Danny and took him in his arms. Danny felt warm as he held him, and he noticed what looked like a rash on the back of his neck. "Sam, did Danny scratch his neck?"

"Why?" she asked as she stepped out of the bathroom, her hair tied up in a bun. She looked to see what Jason was talking about and turned pale. "Let's go."

* * *

Sam rushed up to the front desk once she stepped out of the elevator. Jason was right behind her with Danny in his arms.

"Is Dr. Jones here? My son has a fever and a rash on the back of his neck," Sam said.

"He just got in. I can have Nurse Webber bring you to a room."

"Absolutely not," Sam said adamantly, taking the doctor by surprise.

"Okay," he said. "I'll get you guys set up then. I'm Doctor Munro."

"You're Lucas' friend," Sam said, recognizing the name. "He's my brother."

"You're not Carly," he said, remembering Lucas talking about his sister during medical school.

"No, we just recently found out we have the same father," she explained. Jason put Danny down on the exam table and he began to squirm in discomfort.

"Grif, I just got in," Lucas said as he walked in the room, but stopped when he saw Sam. "What happened?"

"Danny woke up with a fever, I wasn't home so I didn't have my thermometer and I don't know how high it is. But he has a rash on his neck," Sam said nervously. "You said everything was fine, but you know I get a little neurotic when he gets sick."

"No, you've been through a lot with him, it's fine," he said, consoling his sister. "If you can find Brad or Epiphany to come in here, that would be helpful."

"Elizabeth's the only one in, other than Franco," Griffin said. Jason tensed when he heard Franco's name.

"Then you're helping me out," Lucas said. "Elizabeth upset Danny last time he was here, and last thing we need is that again."

"No problem," Griffin nodded.

Sam and Jason sat in the corner as Lucas examined Danny. Sam was on Jason's lap and he was rubbing her back, trying to ease the stress she was feeling. He knew Danny was sick as a baby, but it must have been a lot worse then Sam let on for her to be like this.

"I'm sorry, but Dr. Finn is looking for Dr. Munro," Elizabeth said when she came in. She glanced over and saw Sam in Jason's lap, dressed in what she assumed to be his shirt since it was much to big on her. "I'll let him know you're busy and you'll page when he's done."

"No, he can go," Lucas said. "I've got it covered here."

"Okay," she said, leaving with Griffin.

"I think I scared him, he must think I'm nuts," Sam said.

"Well you are," Lucas teased her. "I took some blood to run tests. His fever is high so he'll stay here until it goes down. It looks like he might have the flu, though."

"Oh good," Sam sighed, then realized how crazy that sounded. "I'll take the flu over a relapse."

"I'll be back in a little bit. Danny fell asleep, so try to relax," Lucas said before leaving.

"He's funny," Sam said as she stood up and paced. "You must think I'm insane."

"No, I think you're a mother who cares about her son," he said as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I thought I was going to lose him, and I get scared whenever he's really sick that I'll actually lose him," she said quietly as she hugged Jason, playing with the hem of his shirt.

"He'll be okay," Jason said, kissing the top of her head. He glanced out the window and saw a familiar face stepping off the elevator. "Is that Robin and Patrick?"

"Where?" Sam asked, knowing they moved to California. She looked out into the hallway and was shocked. "Come on."

"Danny's okay here?" Jason asked as he took her hand and followed her into the hallway.

"Yeah, we're right here," she said.

"Sam, Jason," Robin said happily. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Is Danny okay?" Patrick asked, concern lacing his tone.

"He's running a high fever and Lucas thinks it's just the flu, but he's running tests to make sure," Sam said.

"I'm glad to see the two of you together," Robin smiled.

"What brings you back to Port Charles?" Jason asked, wrapping his arm around Sam's waist.

"You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Helena Cassadine was found dead last night," Robin said.

"Her men came to get Robin but we convinced them to bring us here," Patrick said.

"Where's Emma?"

"She's with my mom," Robin said. "Her body is in the lab that's on Spoon Island. She's dead dead, I can't bring her back she's too old."

"You mean her reign of torment is over finally?"

"Not exactly, she left a will and God only knows what surprises that woman has left up her sleeve."

"Maybe the long-lost Cassadine will make an appearance at last," Sam joked.

The group missed the smirk that graced Dr. Finn's face as he organized his files.


	11. XI.

Sam woke up early, exhausted from taking care of Danny all week. He was feeling better finally, and she hoped he would be back to normal soon. She sent Jason home last night, feeling bad that he stayed over all week and would go back and forth to get changed for the day then come back. He looked put out that she was sending him home, but reluctantly agreed around midnight when Danny's coughing fit finally subsided and it seemed he was finally in a sound sleep. She heard the door open and close, so she headed downstairs.

"I come bearing bagels and coffee," Jason said when he saw her. "I would have knocked but I didn't want to wake you or Danny."

"I gave you a key, you're welcome to come and go as you please," she said, reaching up to kiss him. "I'm guessing you didn't sleep like I told you to."

"Nope. I tend to sleep better knowing my family is okay," he said as he sat on the couch. "Danny's still sleeping?"

"Yes, longest he's slept through the night all week," Sam said as she joined him on the couch. She crossed her legs under her to face him while she ate breakfast. "I think he's on the mend."

"Good," he nodded. "What's the plan for today?"

"Helena's will reading," Sam said dramatically.

"Spooky," Jason laughed. "What tales from the crypt you think we're in for?"

"I couldn't even imagine. She'll take one last stab at my mother, that I'm sure about," Sam said. "Like it was my mom's fault that Mikkos Cassadine had an affair."

"Maybe it won't be that bad," Jason tried, but Sam just laughed. "We're not bringing Danny, right?"

"No, even if he was healthy I wouldn't put him through that," Sam said. "Monica is going to come here in a little bit and then bring Danny by her once he's more awake. I should probably get dressed."

"I'll be here."

"You sure you want to come? As far as we know, you're not in the will. No reason to subject yourself to this freak show."

"I'm coming," he said, grabbing her arm to get her to bend over the couch so he could kiss her. "I want to be here for you and Danny."

"I know," she whispered. "I only sent you home last night because I was worried you wanted to get back to your place but felt obligated to stay."

"Never," he said, kissing her again. "Being with you is the easiest decision to make. It feels natural, like breathing."

"Okay," she nodded, feeling herself tear up. In the most subtle ways, he was coming back to her. "I'll be right down."

* * *

"You okay, Mom?" Sam asked as her, Jason and Alexis walked up to the door. "Maybe Baldwin can just mail us whatever she left."

"No, I need to hear what the sea witch has left to say," Alexis said as she knocked. The butler answered and led them into the living room, which was filled with chairs surrounding a TV stand.

"Apparently it's a video," Hayden said as she walked up to them. "Take a seat."

"Always dramatic," Alexis sighed as she took a seat in the back, figuring she could have a quick escape.

"Glad to see you two together," Hayden said.

"Really?" Sam said in disbelief. "You knew who he was along with Nikolas and Elizabeth."

"I also got shot, so forgive me for not being so forthcoming with my information," she shrugged.

"Who else is coming?"

"The Spencers, Elizabeth," she rolled her eyes. "Not like she wouldn't be here anyway, her house isn't good enough for her anymore,"

"Someone broke into it," Sam reasoned.

"Oh please," Hayden scoffed. "I heard her spin that one to Nikolas. She wasn't ready to go back home knowing Jason wouldn't be there. She's like a leech, and now she's latched onto my husband and is snooping into my life to ruin my marriage."

"Do you have anything to worry about?" Sam asked.

"Don't we all?" Hayden said dismissively before walking away.

"If everyone could please take a seat so we can get this started," Scott said as he walked in. "Quicker we begin, the quicker it ends."

"This turned out to be quite the audience," Nikolas said as he walked in with Elizabeth. They both sat down next to Hayden. Liz looked back where Jason and Sam were sitting and quickly looked away when she saw them laughing and smiling.

"I don't understand what this woman could have left any of us," Lulu said as she walked in with Lucky and Laura.

"One final curse upon the Spencer clan," Lucky said with a smirk.

"Don't joke about that," Laura snapped.

"Can we get this over with already?" Alexis asked, feeling herself start to get anxious. Sam took her hand in hers to try to calm her mother down.

"Once everyone is here," Scott rolled his eyes. "Good, Robin is here. Now we can begin."

"Boat ride took forever," Robin said as her and Patrick sat next to Jason. "Helena hated all of us, this should be interesting."

"If this tape is being played, it means I have died and my plans for immortality has failed, meaning Dr. Scorpio has failed yet again," Helena said. Patrick put his arm around Robin when he noticed her freeze. "I might as well begin with you, Robin. You obviously came short of what you were requested to do. Yes, the resurrection of Mr. Morgan and Jake was impressive, but you failed to save the others. Pity, really."

"There were no others besides Stavros," Robin said.

"They're still available, if you wish to save them. I bequeath to you your research. I deeply dislike to do this, but you are the only person who can truly make sense of it. In addition, I leave you the files I have on the others. Some may be familiar to you."

"I never knew there was anyone else," she said shakily as she accepted the folders from Scott.

"Next, the Spencer family. I leave you a warning: I may be gone, but our feud will live forever."

"Is that all?" Lulu asked.

"Of course not," Laura sighed.

"Laura, you took from me the thing I love most, my beloved Mikkos, and because I am a better person, I am giving you the key to the thing that you love most," Helena said. "To your children, Lucky and Lulu, I leave you with the knowledge that your bloodline has not ended."

"What the hell does that mean?" Lucky asked and Lulu shrugged.

"Do we really want to know?"

"Which brings me to Elizabeth. Sweet, innocent Elizabeth," Helena said and paused. "You've fooled my grandson and every other man you shared a bed with, but you never fooled me. Jake was better off with me, but I'm sure you don't see it that way."

"How dare she," Elizabeth said angrily.

"Since you have not bothered to inquire about Jake's time spent as a Cassadine, rather than the Spencer we both know he is, I leave you this book," Scott handed Elizabeth a leather-bound book with the title 'Jake's Adventures'. Elizabeth quickly put the book in the bag, not wanting to know what story it told.

"Perhaps if I had him at an earlier age as planned, but that was foiled by the guttersnipe, Samantha Morgan. I thought you were redeemable when you watched little Jake get kidnapped and didn't stop it; you showed you were capable of being a Cassadine. Alas, you were a disappointment like your mother and rescued him. Unfortunately you didn't die as planned, but one did hope."

"Sick bitch," Sam said, Jason tightening his arm around her. He didn't miss the satisfied smirk Elizabeth had on her face as Helena spoke about Sam. Sam had told him what happened when she watched Jake get kidnapped, and hired men to scare Elizabeth. He couldn't reconcile those actions with the woman he knew today at first, but realized how deeply she regretted what she did and how she almost died saving Jake and trying to earn his forgiveness.

"Since you and your sisters technically are family and are entitled to the Cassadine fortune, I leave you one penny to divide among yourselves."

"How generous," Jason muttered as he took the box for Sam.

"Natasha, I have grown fond of you over the years, so I wanted to leave you something near and dear to my heart," Helena said. Alexis took the box from Scott and opened it. An opera song began to play and a program laid inside. "Despite my dear Mikkos' severe lapse in judgment, I want you to remember him and your mother, and me."

"Just when I thought it couldn't get worse," Alexis muttered when she lifted the program and found the dagger used to kill her mother. "One final stab."

"She left you a knife?" Hayden asked.

"No, she left me the dagger she slit my mothers throat with," Alexis said, trying not to get hysterical. "You knew what was in here, Baldwin!"

"Not the dagger," he said. "Just sit, it's almost over."

"Finally, my dear grandson, the biggest disappointment of all. I had high hopes for you, Nikolas. I thought you finally embraced the Cassadine way, but you couldn't do it. For that, I leave you a quest. You need to earn the Cassadine fortune, and there is another. Find him. Until then, you are barred from the family accounts."

"Another Cassadine?" Hayden asked. "How don't you know who he is?"

"None of us have met him, but we've heard stories," Nikolas said. "I presumed he was dead."

"My brother Valentin," Alexis said, slamming the box shut to stop staring at the dagger. "He's the craziest of them all, according to Helena. Are we done? I'd like to go home."

"Parties over, don't forget your goody boxes," Scott said as he shut off the TV.

"Now Jason knows you're a terrible person who put our son in danger," Elizabeth said as she shoved past Sam. Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Excuse me."

"Jake is not Jason's, and according to Helena, you've known that for quite sometime," Sam said.

"She's lying."

"I'm not so sure about that. She may be crazy, but she has no reason to lie, but you do. You kept Jason and I apart with that lie, and you got your revenge for Jake by lying about Danny and letting me and Jason believe our son was dead. I earned my forgiveness, I almost died trying to save your son. But you? You just keep causing hurt and destruction."

"How dare you say that and accuse me of lying."

"Because that's really such a stretch for you," Sam said sarcastically. "You've lied and manipulated every man you spread your legs for just to keep them with you, and guess what? They still left."

"You bitch," she said, going to slap Sam but she caught her hand.

"I've punched you in the face before, I'll do it again if I have to," Sam said menacingly. "However, I've grown up and learned from my past mistakes and I am a better person for it. Maybe one day you can do that same."

"You're going to let her talk to me like that?" Liz said in outrage, looking at Jason for help. "She watched my son get taken from me, she slept with Ric – someone you hated!"

"I believe you did the same, right before you took Jason to bed when you realized who he was," Sam said calmly. "You haven't done one thing to apologize to me or my family for what you've put us through all these years. Saint Elizabeth is never wrong, you're always better than us all. Well, you're not. You're actually worse than everyone in this town."

"I'm the worst? That's rich coming from a piece of trash con-artist."

"She's my wife," he said forcefully. "Don't disrespect her again."

Elizabeth stormed out of the room in tears and Lucky sighed before following after her.

"I think we could all use a drink," Robin said to ease the tension. "Floating Rib?"

"Let's go," Alexis said, leading the group out.

* * *

"I'm guess things haven't settled since we left," Patrick said as he and Sam stood at the bar waiting for their drink orders.

"I just don't understand why she can't move on and just admit to her mistakes," Sam said with a sigh. "I was no angel when I showed up to Port Charles, and I did some terrible things, but I changed. Knowing and loving Jason helped me become a better person, and it just does the opposite for her. Why she can't just leave us alone is beyond me."

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Robin and I wanted to leave on a good note, but she let Emma become dependent on you and she was so broken up when we ended our engagement. I don't know if I'll ever really forgive her for letting my daughter get hurt like that."

"Which I never wanted, I was heartbroken," she said. They took their drinks and walked back to the table Robin and Jason were sitting at. "She's ruined so many lives with her lies, I don't know why she keeps thinking what I did years ago is going to make what she did okay."

"She just wants me to hate you, which won't happen," Jason said, leaning in to kiss her. Sam smiled when she pulled away, grateful to have him beside her and believing in her.

"With Lucky back in town, maybe she'll become more grounded," Robin said.

"Yeah, but I don't want to see Lucky go back down the wrong path again. He's been doing well," Sam sighed.

"You really think Elizabeth knew Jake was Lucky's the whole time?" Patrick asked.

"I think Helena is just messing with everyone. She probably found out when she took Jake," Robin said, trying to give her old friend the benefit of the doubt. "She was married to Lucky at the time and he got clean to be a father to Jake, why would she lie to Jason when she didn't have him?"

"Who knows how her mind works anymore," Sam said. "She makes me crazy."

"Really? We couldn't notice," Jason teased her, nudging her side.

"Well, at least Helena is finally gone. Let's toast to that," Patrick said, raising his beer in the air.

"You look at who I roomed with during my stay in the cyrogenic tank?" Jason asked, tapping on the folders on the table.

"I never knew there was others, it's sick and it's her way of manipulating me to keep me from my family," Robin said, rubbing at her temples. "I know if I look, I'm going to want to save whoever it is. Maybe I should just throw them out and remain ignorant."

"You need to see who else she's kept from us," Patrick said. "I'll support whatever decision you make."

"I can look if you want," Sam offered.

"By all means," Robin said, handing Sam the folders. Sam began to go through them and cringed.

"She's got the Alcazar brothers on ice."

"I'll leave them there."

"There's a lot of Cassadine relatives in here, and a lot of people we probably would be better off having stay dead, but this one you might find interesting," Sam said as she handed the folder to Robin.

"Oh my God," she gasped. "I never knew she was there."

"Who?" Patrick asked.

"She has Emily."

"My sister?" Jason asked and Robin nodded. "How is that possible?"

"I-I don't know," Robin said, in shock to know that her friend was so close for so many years but kept from her. "I didn't even know there were other cryo rooms. They only had me access to where I was needed. Why would they keep her for so long?"

"I don't think we'll ever understand the ways of Helena Cassadine," Patrick said, trying to console Robin. "Do you know where to find her?"

"No, and I don't know how I'd find out," Robin said, swiping at the tears that fell. "I didn't succeed, so this is her way to torment me."

"We'll find her. Spinelli and I will look into it," Sam said.

"Me too," Jason chimed in. "Monica thought she lost all her children. If Emily can be found, I want to help."

"I think we have to find Valentin," Robin said. "I don't know if I can bring her back to life, but the least I can do is bring her back here to Port Charles."

"Looks like you guys are back here indefinitely," Sam said.


	12. XII.

"Jason?" Sam said as she let herself into his apartment. She knocked, but didn't get an answer and didn't want to wait in the hallway. "Hello?"

"Yeah?" he said as he walked out of the bathroom. He must have been in the shower because all he was wearing was a towel and it took all of Sam's self-control not to embarrass herself in front of him.

"Ah, just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out or something," she stammered, feeling the blush rise in her cheeks. "I knocked, but for obvious reasons you didn't answer."

"I'll be right out," he said with a smirk, enjoying the reaction he got from her. They still haven't slept together, wanting to take it slow and make sure this relationship is what the both of them wanted, but that didn't mean he didn't think about it. Especially after the night at the cabin, he really wanted to be with her.

She sat down on the couch and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She missed the intimate part of her relationship with Jason, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet. She wanted it, but she was still nervous he'd decide being married to her wasn't what he wanted anymore. Sam still felt like him being back with her was just too good to be true at times.

"Feel weird being back here?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"A little bit. A lot of stuff happened here, I got kidnapped by Jerry Jacks from here," she said. "You found me."

"Seems to be the trend," he said with a smile. "How did you forget you owned this place?"

"I had asked Spinelli to get it listed for me during the craziness of planning our wedding, while you were undergoing brain surgery, and then everything happened after that it was the last thing on my mind," she shrugged. "Spinelli thought he took care of it, but realized he didn't after a couple months of not hearing anything. It was just a bad time and he didn't want me to worry about it. Me and you weren't on the best of terms, so he decided to leave it."

"Well, I'm very glad he didn't put it on the market," he said, leaning back on the couch. "No plans for the day?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "Danny's in school and my mom is going to pick him up so I have the day free."

"I get you all to myself today?" he asked with a grin as he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm yours if you want me," she said as she rested her head on his chest.

"Of course I want you," he said, leaning over to kiss her. "Do I get a full day, half day? What am I looking at?"

"Full day if you don't mind doing some work," she smiled. "Spinelli's looking for where Helena could have had another lab, and I have the fun task of figuring out who worked in the lab with Robin. If I can figure out who was there, we can run facial recognition and see if they pop up anywhere else."

"You think Nikolas would know?"

"I don't know," she sighed, sitting up and turning to face him. "I wonder if he knew about Emily being held by Helena too."

"Why?"

"That would account for him suddenly acting like this. Maybe he planned on finding her and then returning ELQ to the Quartermaine's once he did."

"You really believe that?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "He's my cousin, and I can't help but hope the Nikolas I've known isn't gone forever."

"I get it, but that means he's been hiding my sister's whereabouts for even longer and keeping Monica from her children again," Jason said, his frustration evident in his voice.

"Maybe she was going to kill Emily if Nikolas said anything," Sam reasoned.

"She's dead now, so why not come clean?"

"Helena's workers are loyal, they carry out her orders still even though she's dead."

"You really want there to be a reason for Nikolas' behavior," Jason said, realizing how badly Sam wanted to find a reason to forgive her cousin for what he put them through. "It's not enough that maybe he finally went to the dark side."

"No, it's not," she said. "I'm so angry for what he did, for letting me continue to mourn you and letting Danny think his father was dead. But he's my family, and I really want to believe there's an explanation."

"Okay," he nodded. "I don't like the guy, I don't think I ever will and obviously I don't remember if I ever did, but it's important to you."

"Thank you," she said, pulling him closer for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of him, deepening the kiss. His hands went to her hips as hers rested on his shoulders. Unsurprisingly, they were interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

"They'll go away eventually," Jason muttered as he pressed kisses along her neck. "We're not home."

"I don't think whoever it is is leaving, but I will shut the door in Carly's face," Sam said as she reluctantly moved off Jason.

"I'm sure she'll understand," he said and Sam laughed loudly.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but I went to Samantha's apartment and she was not there, so I called but she did not answer," Spinelli rambled as he walked in and stopped when he saw Sam on the couch. "And with good reason, because she is here with you. I've interrupted again, haven't I?"

"Nothing we're not used to," Sam said. "What's up?"

"Because the Vicious One had fallen ill and spent the remainder of her life in Greece, following her was a bit of a dead end, but I will continue to search," he said as he sat down and opened his laptop on the coffee table. "I did find a family tree of some sorts, and discovered someone who has an interesting lineage."

"Who?" Jason asked.

"Nathan West."

"No, he's not a Cassadine. He thought he was Victor's son, but Obrecht told him no," Sam said, looking at what Spinelli found. There were DNA tests showing that Victor was in fact Nathan's father. "Why would they lie about that?"

"Obrecht is chief-of-staff, maybe that was in exchange for her silence. Cassadine's wanted the hospital out of the Quartermaine's control and now they're going after ELQ," Jason said.

"I need you to look more into Nathan and Obrecht, specifically her connection to Victor," Sam told Spinelli, who nodded and began his search. "And don't say anything to Maxie that we're looking into him."

"I shall not break my silence," he said. "Georgie is currently spending the day at Crimson."

"Maxie must be thrilled," Sam said and Spinelli nodded, a fond smile gracing his face.

"It warms my heart to see Georgie and Maximista together."

"Everyone's glad to have you back," she said as she stood up and headed over to Jason who was standing in the kitchen.

"I thought I had you to myself today," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into him. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled when he kissed her forehead.

"It's like the old days, just me, you, and Spinelli," she said with a smirk. "Did I mention that Danny is sleeping over my mom's tonight."

"Really?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at her as she nodded. "How about tonight we grab dinner, play some pool? We can do whatever you want."

"I like the sound of that," she smiled, lifting up to kiss him. "Just you and me."

* * *

"So is everyone in town here tonight?" Jason asked as they walked into the Floating Rib, which was unexpectedly busy.

"There's a table, go get it," Sam said, pushing him to the back corner. "Perfect, we're alone."

"If we were alone, I'd have different plans for us," he whispered in her ear as he pulled out her seat.

"What kind of different plans, Mr. Morgan?" she asked innocently.

"You'll just have to wait and find out, Mrs. Morgan," he said, leaning over the table to kiss her. "Beer?"

"Yes, and get some fries," she said. "Please."

"Fries were a given," he said. "Hold down the fort."

"Yes sir," she said with a laugh.

"Can I get you a drink?" a random guy asked as he sat down across from Sam. "You look like you could use a drink, and some company."

"My husband is actually getting me one," she said, barely acknowledging him. "You can leave now, there's plenty of other girls who might fall for your bad lines."

"Maybe I can practice more of my bad lines on you."

"Or maybe you can get away from my wife like she asked you to," Jason said calmly as he stood over the guy and handed Sam her beer.

"Good idea," the guy said, quickly getting out of the seat after taking a look at Jason.

"Looks like I can't leave you alone tonight," he said, putting the basket of fries down on the table.

"I'm a big girl, I had it handled," she said as she picked at the fries. "Besides, you should have heard what the sorority girls over there were saying about you."

"Really? And what were they saying?"

"I'd tell you, but your judge of character hasn't been so swift this past year. Wouldn't want to watch you make a bad decision."

"Funny," he said dryly, tossing a fry at her. "My judgement has been just fine recently, and the best decision I've made yet was finally listening to you."

"Things started to go in the right direction for you after that," she smiled.

"I'd have to agree," he said. "So, when should we kick these youngings off a pool table so we can finish the game we started on New Years Eve?"

"Once these fries are done. I'm pretty sure we finished that game, and I'm positive you lost."

"I don't remember it quite like that."

"You have suffered from multiple brain injuries."

"You've got jokes tonight," he said and she started laughing. "We'll see how funny you find it when you lose."

"Care to raise the stakes if you're so confident?"

"If I win, I get to take you home tonight," he said and she felt herself get warm.

"And if I win?"

"You get to take me home," he said with a smirk. She laughed and rolled her eyes, but stuck her hand out for a handshake.

"You're on."

* * *

"I am so glad you guys are back in town," Maxie said excitedly as she walked into the Floating Rib with Robin and Patrick. "I missed having you around."

"It's only temporary," Patrick said. "There's some stuff we still have to get settled over here."

"Regardless," Maxie said, waving him off. "Just let me be happy about this."

"Of course," Robin laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen this place so busy."

"Looks like a lot of PCU kids," Maxie said as she looked around. "Ah, and there is a familiar face."

"Don't bother them, Maxie," Robin said, smiling when she saw Jason and Sam playing pool. They looked so happy as they laughed and teased each other, stopping every once in a while for a kiss. "I'm happy for them."

"Finally Elizabeth is out of the picture, she always makes a mess of their life," Maxie rolled her eyes as she leaned over the bar to order a drink.

"If he wasn't hit by that car they probably would have been together longer," Patrick said. "And if Elizabeth didn't lie, I wouldn't have proposed to Sam."

"Well, everyone is with who they belong with and is happy," Robin said, not wanting to dwell on what Elizabeth did.

"And Elizabeth is alone and unhappy, all is right in the world," Maxie said as she handed Robin and Patrick their drinks.

"You do realize that if you didn't sleep with Lucky, Elizabeth wouldn't have gone to Jason and slept with him, right?" Robin said.

"Well, when you put it like that," Maxie said, glaring at Robin. "I learned from my mistakes that I made ten years ago. I don't think Elizabeth can say the same."

"I'm just happy to see Sam happy again," Patrick said, trying to end the conversation. "I am also glad that Mac owns the bar so I don't have to pay for these beers."

"Cheers to that," Robin laughed, raising her beer in the air. "Good time to end the conversation, look who just walked in."

Elizabeth had decided she needed a break and had hoped it would be quiet at the Floating Rib, but naturally things were not going to work in her favor. She spotted Robin and Patrick sitting at the bar and hoped things were okay enough between them for her to be able to have a drink and head back home.

"Hey guys, I expected you two back in California after the will reading," she said, taking a seat next to Patrick.

"Some stuff came up, so we figured we'd stay a little longer," Patrick said. "Anna's thrilled, so at least we're not unwanted company."

"She's really missed Emma," Robin said quickly, knowing when her husband was being passive aggressive. "Are you still staying with Nikolas?"

"No, the boys and I went back to my house with Lucky," she said. "They were watching a basketball game so I decided to come here. Didn't expect to run into so many people."

"Invasion of the college crowd," Maxie said. "I think we all expected it to be quiet."

"I'm glad I ran into you guys, though," Elizabeth smiled. "The hospital is very strange without you, Patrick."

"Lucas assures me the guy who took my place is excellent," he said. "And there's another doctor who was just hired?"

"Dr. Hamilton Finn," Elizabeth nodded and Robin choked on her drink. "You okay?"

"Strange name," Robin said quickly.

"Yeah, with a strange personality to go along with it."

"Oh wow they're really going at it," Maxie said as she watched Jason and Sam make-out in the corner by the pool table. "You'd think they were part of the college group."

"Who?" Elizabeth asked as she turned around and immediately wished she didn't. "Oh."

"Looks like they're catching up on lost time," Patrick said and Robin nodded in agreement. "Danny must be by one of his grandma's for the night."

"That doesn't bother you? You two were just engaged a few months ago," Elizabeth asked him.

"We did what was best for the both of us. She was still in love with Jason and I was still in love with Robin. I love Sam, but it's a different kind of love. We both realized that we had already met the people we were supposed to spend our lives with and they were back in our lives," he shrugged, smiling fondly at Robin.

"I guess as long as they're happy," Elizabeth said unconvincingly.

"Sam! Jason!" Maxie yelled out, stopping the couple from leaving the bar. "Date night?"

"Yeah, Danny's by my mom's for the night," Sam said. "Hey everyone."

"Who won the game?" Robin asked.

"Sam probably, she always beat my ass in pool," Patrick said.

"Much to Jason's disappointment, I did win," Sam said with a smirk. "Twice."

"I wouldn't say disappointed," he said as he wrapped his arms around Sam's waist from behind, she instinctively leaning into his chest. "My ego might be a little wounded."

"You'll live," she laughed, patting his hands. "We were just heading out, a little too many people for us in our old age."

"Yeah, well you two gave them all a show," Maxie smirked. "Be safe, or don't – I'm sure Danny would love a little brother or sister."

"Maxie!" Robin and Sam yelled, Robin shoving Maxie. Elizabeth almost spit out her drink. "Really?"

"On that note, I think we'll leave now," Jason said, pushing Sam toward the door. "That was painful."

"Maxie left us alone the whole time, I'll take it as a win," Sam said, turning around in his arms. "So, I get to take you home tonight?"

"I believe that was the agreement," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "Lets go."

* * *

"You're the winner, what do you want to do?" Jason asked as they walked into the penthouse.

"Want a rematch?" she asked as she walked over to the pool table. "Your chance for redemption."

"How kind of you," he laughed as he took a pool cue from her. "I'm guessing the pool table wasn't your idea?"

"No," she said. "I'm pretty sure this is the only piece of furniture you picked yourself for this place. You loved it."

"I can see why," he said as he stared at her behind while she bent over to make a shot. "Adds a great view to the place."

"I always thought so," she said with a wink as she leaned over for another shot and gave him full view of her cleavage. She knew she was teasing him, but she hadn't felt this carefree in a long time. The way he was still affectionate with her in front of everyone, especially Elizabeth, made her feel confident that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"You're playing dirty," he said, grabbing her from behind and pulling her close. "Keep distracting me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said breathlessly. He moved her hair to one side and began to kiss her neck. "I'm pretty sure you're distracting me."

"How about," he said, quickly picking her up and sitting her on the pool table. He gently pushed her to lay down, her hair spread out on table. "We call this a tie?"

"So then what do I win?"

"Whatever you want," he said.

"What if I wanted you to bring me upstairs," she whispered, leaning back to gauge his reaction.

"Really?" he asked to make sure and she nodded. She laughed at how quickly he picked her up and ran upstairs. She stopped once her back hit their bed.


	13. XIII.

Sam woke up the next morning with the biggest smile on her face, not remembering the last time she felt this happy. She rolled over and realized Jason wasn't in bed, and froze for a moment, praying that last night wasn't a dream. She heard someone coming up the stairs and let out a sigh when she realized she was being ridiculous.

"Good morning," Jason said as he walked in wearing nothing but pajama pants, holding two cups of coffee.

"Morning," she smiled, reaching for the cup of coffee. "I woke up and thought last night was a dream."

"No, it was real," he said, kissing her. "Definitely happened."

"You okay with that?"

"Well that's a silly question," he said. "I spent the night with the most beautiful woman who I am lucky enough to call my wife. The more important question is if you're okay with that?"

"Absolutely," she said, placing their coffees on the end table. She moved so she was sitting on top of him, the sheet barely covering her body. He smirked as he wrapped his arms around her. "I just want to make sure we stay honest with each other."

"If I'm being honest, I don't want to leave this bed all day," he said, his hands running up and down her sides. "Spending time with you and Danny has made me realize what everyone, and you, has been saying. We're connected."

"Did you, um, feel like that with her?" she asked, needing to know, even though this was probably the worst time to ask.

"I thought I did, but what I thought was real doesn't compare to how I feel now with you," he said, taking her face in his hands. "I, uh, I had a memory once when I was with her, but it was of us in this bed."

"You never mentioned that."

"Decided this was the least awkward time to tell you," he laughed, brushing her hair away from her face. "I remembered us being together and I didn't know what to make of it. I kind of brushed it off as a really vivid dream, but now I know it was real."

"Dreamt of me, huh?"

"You are really beautiful, and the sexiest woman I've laid eyes on," he said, pressing kisses along her collarbone. "And even though I can't remember, and we were apart with other people for longer than necessary, I was drawn to you and I just chalked that up as gratefulness for you being willing to help me and be my friend after I tried to kill you, but now I know better.."

"Do you feel better about your missing memories?"

"I want to remember, but being with you just feels normal so I don't feel like I have to remember anymore," he said. "It doesn't feel like something is missing."

"I'm glad," she said, leaning down to kiss him.

"I thought I was in love with Elizabeth, and after everything I didn't think I could trust my feelings because I was nervous I'd be wrong again," he said as he brushed her hair away from her face. "But now I know what it really is like to be in love with someone."

"You're in love with me?" she asked quietly, scared that she misheard him.

"I love you," he said, wiping away the tears that fell from her eyes. He realized how right it felt once he said that, how what he had with Elizabeth was never real, but what he felt for Sam was as real as it could get. Without remembering their life together, he fell in love with his wife all over again and he knew that she was the only one for him.

"I love you too," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she kissed him. She never thought she'd exchange those three words with him again. She kissed up his neck, stopping at his ear. "I don't have to pick up Danny until 2."

"I think I can work with that," he said, quickly flipping her onto her back.

* * *

"Danny, I have some work to do," Sam said as they walked into their home. "I can put a movie on for you or you can go play in your room quietly until dinner, then I promise you get two stories before bedtime tonight."

"Can I take a nap?" he asked, adding a yawn for extra effect.

"Did you stay up late by Grandmas?"

"Me and Aunt Krissy watched movies!"

"Which means they fell asleep in her bed around midnight," Sam said.

"I'll get him in bed," Jason said, scooping Danny up and throwing him over his shoulder, much to his son's delight.

Sam opened her laptop and began to run a scan through the known employees at Crichton-Clark. She didn't think this would give her an answer, but it was the quicker option to chose. Figuring this was going to take a while, she went into the kitchen to make some coffee for her and Jason.

"Danny fell asleep the minute I tucked him into bed," Jason said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hopefully he falls asleep tonight," she sighed, handing him a mug. "Kristina figures if he's in bed by a certain time, that counts as him actually being in bed, even though he's usually in her bed and they stay up and watch stupid movies."

"Sounds like the daughter of a lawyer," he smirked. "You starting your search?"

"Yeah, currently running through known employees of the clinic, but not expecting much," she said as they back to the table. "If they wanted to stay secret, they're not going to be signing any paperwork that will trace back. I'm hoping someone will maybe be flagged that'll give me a lead on where else to look."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"You remember anything about your stay?" she asked jokingly.

"Wish I did," he said, a frown crossing his face. "Anything else?"

"You can just hang out with me and listen to me ramble, if you want."

"I would love to," he said, kissing her quickly. "Ramble away, wife."

"There's something strange about Obrecht's arrival. I thought at first it just had to do with Britt and Faison since she loved him, but they're both gone and she's now chief-of-staff after aiding and abetting an international criminal, who is why you were shot," Sam said, adding that last part bitterly. "Adding in the fact that she lied about Nathan not being a Cassadine, there's something off. She also pushed for Britt to stay with Nikolas, and Britt stole Lulu's embryos and tried to pass Rocco off as her own son."

"Another Spencer," Jason noted. "Which makes sense if she's been working with the Cassadines."

"Exactly," Sam agreed. "Helena's vengeance against the Spencers, as strange as this sounds, has always made sense. What doesn't make sense is this sudden taken down of the Quartermaines."

"Maybe because Tracy was with Luke?"

"And Helena saw that as a slight so she decided to try to break them too," Sam said and realized it made sense. "I've seen crazier."

"Really?" Jason asked in disbelief.

"Heather Webber switched Danny's paternity results to say he was Franco's and wanted to keep him because she was angry I didn't give a letter to her son," she said and Jason stared at her in shock. "It stemmed from that, yeah."

"So Helena is the rationale crazy woman in Port Charles," he said and she laughed.

"Pretty much," she nodded. Jason could see a lightbulb went off in her head, so he waited for her to talk. "It actually makes perfect sense. Luke killed Mikkos, along with a couple other Cassadines. Laura was out of the picture and Helena still didn't get her revenge, so she goes after Luke's new love."

"Who is Tracy," Jason chimed in. "Who has been trying to live up to whatever expectations her family had for her by running ELQ."

"Running ELQ was her life's work, it was so important to her to have in her control, especially when AJ came back in and screwed it up. She ran it for years then he came in and took over, and then they lost it to Nikolas because she gave up her shares to save Luke. Helena knew she would do that," Sam said.

"She has what she wanted, so what else could she want?"

"This is Helena were talking about, who knows," Sam sighed. "I think that other part has to do with Obrecht."

"And how does Valentin Cassadine fit into the equation?"

"That I don't have an answer for. From what I've been told, Helena couldn't control him, so I don't know what he has to do with anything,"

"I can see why people pay the big bucks for you to investigate," Jason said, admiring her ability to piece together a theory like that.

"This was kind of like the old days," she smiled, gesturing between them. "We used to sit and figure out problems together and knew how to keep each other from getting too far-fetched; and if we did, we always supported each other."

"Sounds like we made a good team."

"Always," she smiled, leaning in to kiss him. "Did you want to stay for dinner?"

"You're cooking?"

"Jokes getting old," she rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "I was thinking of going to Kelly's."

"If it means spending more time with you, count me in," he smiled. He went to kiss her again, hoping to repeat their activities from this morning while Danny was asleep, when the computer beeped and Sam turned her attention to it.

"That's strange," she frowned. "Mat Finnilhon was flagged."

"That's a mouthful of a name," Jason said, looking over at the computer screen. "What's so strange other than that?"

"His file says he was a low-level researcher, but he signed off on a ton of projects. There's no pictures of him either," she said as she scanned through what popped up. "Why the secrecy?"

"Maybe it's an alias," Jason suggested. "I don't think anyone other than higher-ups would be signing off on all of that."

"Maybe," she sighed. Jason closed the laptop and pulled Sam out of her chair and they walked over to the couch.

"I think you deserve a break," he said, maneuvering her so she was lying down on the couch.

"Do you now?" she asked, smiling as he hovered over her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. "And how should I spend this well-deserved break?"

"I've got a couple ideas," he said, leaning down to kiss her neck.

"Do these ideas take into consideration a sleeping four-year old who can wake up at any minute and run downstairs?" she asked breathlessly, knowing if he continued she probably wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Not all of them, no," he said with a chuckle. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well," she smirked. "If any of your ideas can be done with clothes on, we won't have to scar our son for life."

"I think that can be arranged," he said happily, going right back to his earlier place along her neck and his hands playing with the waistband of her jeans.

* * *

"So I get two stories tonight, right?" Danny asked as alternated between coloring and eating his french fries.

"Yes, baby," Sam nodded, ruffling his hair. "You were very good and I got a lot of work done."

"Since I get two stories, can Daddy read one and you read the other?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Jason said.

"I agree," she smiled. "Ah, looks like Aunt Krissy is here. Maybe we should explain to her what 'bedtime' means again."

"He was in bed," Kristina said, rolling her eyes. "I can't help it I'm his favorite."

"Right," Sam laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom and Julian are on a date and so is Molly and TJ," she sighed as she grabbed a chair and sat down at their table. "Depressing when everyone has a love life but me."

"You're not still talking to that professor, are you?" she asked, eyeing her carefully.

"Um, not really," Kristina said, unable to look Sam in the eye. "I told Mom and my dad what happened with her, so I'm in the clear."

"Her?"

"Yeah," Kristina said slowly. "I think I'm attracted to women. I didn't know how to tell you guys, I didn't know how I felt about it myself."

"Krissy, no matter what I have your back. You're my sister," Sam said, upset that Kristina felt she couldn't tell her this. "You should talk to Lucas."

"I have," she nodded. "I don't really know how I feel about other women, or guys, but I know how I feel about Parker."

"Just don't do anything that'll get you permanently kicked out of school. There won't be enough paper bags in the world to get Mom through that panic attack."

"Yeah, Dad already sent Max to school to find out what was going on. That's how it all came out."

"Oh, I'd pay to see Max try to be discreet," Sam laughed and turned to Jason. "When you had brain surgery before our wedding, I didn't want them telling you anything that would stress you out so I told Max to lie to you and he was awful. It would have been pretty funny if I wasn't so mad at him."

"She went full mob wife," Kristina said with a smirk. "Just another one of the many reasons to add to the list of why you two work out so well."

"Krissy," Sam warned.

"She's not wrong," Jason said with a smile, taking Sam's hand in his.

"You guys totally had sex!" Kristina yelled excitedly, earning a smack from Sam.

"You're kidding me, right? Danny is right there and you just yelled that for everyone to hear," Sam said angrily.

"Well, maybe if you two weren't back in high school and he didn't leave a hickey behind your ear," Kristina said, flipping Sam's hair away. "I'm so happy for you two! If I'm not getting any, I'm very glad you finally are."

"It's always a pleasure seeing my sister," Sam said, pushing Kristina out of her seat.

"Let me know when you two need some alone time again," she said, winking at them before walking away.

"She's funny," Jason said after a minute.

"Glad you still tolerate my sisters," she sighed, standing up from her seat. "You want anything else?"

"No, where are you going?"

"To go pay," she said, grabbing her wallet. Jason stood up to stop her. "I've got it, Jason."

"Sit, I got it," he said, but Sam wouldn't budge.

"Stay with Danny," she patted him on the shoulder before walking to the counter. Jason sighed as he sat back down.

"Your mom is very stubborn," he said and Danny nodded. "You know what that means?"

"No, but Grandma Lexis says the same thing," he said without looking up from his picture.

"Dad, look there's Danny!" Emma said happily as she walked into Kelly's, followed by the rest of her family. "Can I go say hi?"

"Sure, I'll come with you," Robin said, taking Emma's hand as she walked over to Jason. She was glad Emma spotted them because she needed to talk to Sam. "Hello you two."

"Emma!" Danny said excitedly, jumping out of his seat to hug her.

"Sweetheart, why don't you bring Danny to say hi to Grandma?" Robin suggested and Emma nodded, taking Danny's hand and walking over to Anna.

"Family dinner?" Jason asked, noticing Patrick talking with Sam at the counter and Anna and Griffin in the corner. "Dr. Munro?"

"He is Duke's son," Robin said. "He came to Port Charles wanting to get to know his dad and found out he was dead."

"That's a shame."

"Yeah, but I think it's good for my mom," Robin said, smiling fondly when she looked over and saw them talking. "She's been taking his death really hard still."

"It's good they have each other now," Jason said.

"Could say the same about you and Sam," she said. "I'm very happy you found your way back to your family."

"Me too," he said. Sam rested her hand on his shoulder when her and Patrick approached them.

"I have some information that you might find useful," Robin said and Sam immediately sat down next to her. "Elizabeth mentioned the name of the new doctor at GH the other night, and I know him."

"Griffin?"

"No, but he happens to be Duke's son," Robin said and Sam looked over at him. "Story for another time. Hamilton Finn worked at the clinic I was kept at."

"Oh my God, how am I that stupid?" Sam said. "Jason, that file that got flagged."

"It was an alias."

"It was an anagram of his name," she said, annoyed that she didn't notice that earlier. "He signed off on a lot of projects that were done."

"I'm wondering if he worked on Emily. I looked into his background, and it's impressive. If anyone could figure out my research, it would have been him."

"So then why didn't Helena leave it with him?" Jason asked. "If they're all working together, wouldn't it make more sense to leave the research with the guy who still works for her?"

"Maybe he's not," Patrick said. "I stopped by the hospital this morning and him and Obrecht were arguing over something."

"Spinelli's looking into her connection to all this, I think she's the key," Sam said.

"Which is going to make it harder to figure out her role in it all," Jason added and Sam agreed.

"I just wish I knew if they brought Emily back or not," Robin sighed. "She was my friend, she's your sister."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Sam reassured her. "I'll call when Spinelli finds something."

"Hi Sam," Emma said as she walked back to the table with Danny.

"Hi Emma, it's good to see you," Sam said. "How do you like California?"

"I like it a lot, but I miss everyone here."

"We should go eat," Patrick said, scooping Emma up in his arms. "Hungry, princess?"

"Starving," she said dramatically.

"Sam, I never really thanked you for taking care of Emma while I was away, and Patrick," Robin said as she stood up. "I know it was hard for all of you when you and Patrick broke of your engagement."

"Emma is the sweetest little girl," Sam said fondly. "It was a privilege to get to know her, and it was but we're all with who we're meant to be with, so that's what's important. You're very lucky to have Patrick."

"He is pretty great," she smiled. "We both got lucky with great husbands."

"And I have you to thank for having mine back."

* * *

Danny decide he wanted his second story with his dad, so she got ready for bed once she was dismissed by her son. Sam walked out of her bathroom and smiled when she saw Jason waiting in bed for her. She crawled in and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"You didn't have to stay," she said as she turned to face him.

"I know, but spending the night with the woman I love sounded like a better option then going back to my apartment," he said, smiling when he saw how happy Sam looked and realized he would do anything to keep her happy.

"I love you," she said as she rested her head on his chest. "I'm so happy I get the chance to say that to you again."

"I love you too," he said, kissing her forehead.


	14. XIV.

"How's it feel to be back?" Dante asked as he sat across from Lucky. After submitting a ton of paperwork, Lucky was finally back as a detective for the PCPD.

"Strange," he said. "I didn't think I'd be back in Port Charles to stay."

"You worried?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I've got my boys to think about, I can't let them down."

"You won't," Dante reassured him. "I'll keep you in line."

"Thanks," Lucky laughed. "You and your partner get along?"

"Nathan's a good guy," Dante nodded.

"You get along well with any other employees here?"

"Lulu told you," Dante sighed and Lucky nodded. "It's over between me and Valerie."

"I know, but just remember you broke my sister's heart," he said. "Spencer's are known to hold grudges."

"Can somebody help me?" Hayden asked when she walked over to them, interrupting their conversation. "You're a cop?"

"Yes," Lucky said, wondering what brought her down here. Dante had walked away, not wanting Lucky to continue his conversation and rip him a new one. "What can I help you with?"

"I don't know if you're the best person for me to talk about this with," she said, looking around the station for someone else, but coming up empty. "Can we talk in private?"

"Sure," he said, leading her into the interrogation room. "What's up?"

"I was shot a couple months back and went into a coma, and there's a man in prison for shooting me who I don't think did it," she told him.

"What makes you think that?"

"I have a suspicion," she said vaguely. "I don't think the bullet that was taken from my head matches the one that came from Shawn Butler's gun."

"Butler is one of Sonny's men, it's not unlikely that he shot you."

"Sonny isn't the person who wanted me dead."

"So who did?"

"I don't know if I can tell you that," she said, rifling through her purse and pulling out a ziplock bag that held a bullet. "Run a test."

"I can't do that unless you want to open a case, why don't you bring this to Samantha Morgan?"

"Please, Lucky," she said. "I know we don't know each other very well and I'm just the random new girl who's married to your brother, but I need your help."

"Why me?"

"You don't have ties to Jason Morgan, and because I went to tell him who he was I was shot. You're a smart guy, who didn't want him to know his identity that already knew," she said before walking out. He sighed as he pocketed the bag, deciding to help her.

* * *

Elizabeth was sitting on the couch in her living room, the book Helena left her closed on her lap. She's read through it hundreds of times and didn't know what to make of it, and was horrified over whatever Helena did to her son. She was startled when she heard the doorbell, the book dropping to the floor when she stood up quickly.

"Hello Elizabeth," Nikolas said as he walked in. "How's everything?"

"Good, I supposed," she said, walking over to the couch. "You?"

"Coming up empty on my uncle's whereabouts, unfortunately," he said, leaning down to pick up the book. "I thought you would have burned this."

"She did something to him, Nikolas. I don't know what, and I don't know how to find out," she said, taking the book back from him. "My son was held captive by that woman for years and who knows what's going to happen. He's fine now, but what if in a couple of years whatever she did activates."

"She's tormenting you, like she's tormenting the rest of us," he said. "Jake is back home with his family and he's doing well."

"For now."

"Have you spoken to Jason recently?"

"No, he ignores my calls. I had the bad luck of seeing him and Sam together on a date and I haven't seen him since," she sighed. "This didn't play out well for either of us."

"It never does," he sighed. "I shouldn't have listened to Helena and I should have told Sam that Jake was really Jason, this entire mess would have been avoided."

"And Sam still wins."

"She's his wife," Nikolas tried to reason with her. "I know Jason has a special place in your heart, but sometimes some people aren't meant to be."

"Because he was always in the mob and lived a lifestyle I hated. This was our time, he had no ties."

"He's still not working for Sonny, and he's still with Sam," Nikolas said, knowing this wasn't what Elizabeth wanted to hear but needed to. "I'm not just saying this because Sam is my cousin, I threw away that relationship when I lied, and I kept the secret for you because you were happy. But, it's time to accept the reality of the situation."

"I don't know if I can give him up," she said quietly.

"You're only hurting yourself if you don't," he said, resting his hand on her knee. "You deserve to be truly happy."

"Thank you," she said, wiping at her eyes. "So do you."

"I think my happiness died that night with Emily," he sighed. "I truly loved her and have been unlucky ever since."

"You'll find someone," she said, patting his hand. "I have to head to work."

"Yes, I have to find where my wife went off to," Nikolas said as he stood up.

"You think she's up to something?"

"Of course," he said, opening the front door. "She wouldn't be my type if she wasn't hiding something from me."

* * *

"Spinelli!" Maxie yelled out as she walked into his apartment with Georgie.

"Maximista!" he said nervously, slamming his laptop shut. "What brings you here at this time?"

"I thought we could hang out," she shrugged. "Whatcha looking into for Sam?"

"It's unimportant," he said, taking Georgie from her. "Is all well in the fashion world today?"

"We sent another issue to the printer and I'm praying this time it comes out like a normal magazine. I don't know how Nina and I would spin a third disaster."

"I am positive you would come up with something creative, you're brilliant," Spinelli said fondly. Maxie smiled and remembered when they used to be together, then quickly remembered her current boyfriend and felt guilty.

"When is Ellie coming?"

"Her arrival to Port Charles is still to be determined," he said, noticing Maxie's shift in demeanor. "She is an essential member of the lab and they're unwilling to let her go."

"I really appreciate it that you moved back so I could see Georgie grow up," Maxie said. "I know that wasn't the only reason, but it's the most important one for me."

"Yes, well," he stammered. "I am very glad to be back to the normalcy of Port Charles."

"Normal? Port Charles? Really?"

"I grew accustomed to the ways of this town, and my expertise in private investigating was not in high demand in Portland," he explained. "It feels good to be a part of the McCall and Jackal team again."

"Since you are back, what mystery are you looking into?"

"Nothing of importance," he shrugged, hoping Maxie would drop the subject but knowing that wasn't likely.

"Please, with the insanity caused by Helena's will reading? I know they were there, Lulu told me that Helena had some creepy message about the Spencer bloodline living on."

"Well, the Vicious One was not wrong. The Small Stone Cold is in fact not the offspring of Stone Cold, but a young Spencer."

"Yeah, but Lulu? How would she know unless Helena stole her eggs."

"I think we should not dwell for long upon the ways of Helena Cassadine," Spinelli said. "Shall we get lunch, perhaps?"

"I was supposed to meet with Nathan, but Georgie and I are starving," she said, getting up from the couch and grabbing Georgie. "I just have to stop back in my apartment. Meet you in the hallway?"

"Yes, of course," he said, shutting the door behind her and quickly pulling out his phone.

" _Spinelli? What's up?_ " Sam asked.

"I discovered extremely sensitive information. I will be at Kelly's with Maximista, so come to my apartment and take my laptop. This cannot wait."

" _I'll be there in a little bit, can you wait there?_ "

"Alas, I cannot. Maxie has been asking questions and I fear your arrival would create more questions and I vowed I would not say anything to her."

" _This has to do with Nathan?_ "

"Affirmative."

" _Would you like me to break in or can you leave a key?_ "

"Discreetly break in, please."

" _Things were always more interesting with you around,_ " she sighed. " _Stop by my place later tonight to pick it up_."

* * *

"Who was that?" Jason asked. They were sitting in his apartment looking at Legoland prices. He really wanted to go to Hawaii with Sam, but Danny had no interest when they brought it up again.

"Spinelli. I have to break into his apartment, you want to come?"

"I'm learning things are never dull with you," he smirked, shutting his computer. "Legoland in California looks like a good option."

"Good, now we just have to convince my family to come so they can bring Danny home and we can fly to Hawaii from there," she smiled. "Come on, let's go steal his laptop."

"Any particular reason we're doing it the illegal way? Or is it just more fun?"

"He's with Maxie and she can't know," she explained. "But it is more fun this way."

"Let's go."

Jason was keeping watch as Sam carefully picked the lock to Spinelli's apartment. He smiled in amusement, figuring this was a normal thing for them.

"Got it!" Sam said excitedly as she stood up. "Let's get the laptop and get back to my place."

"What do you think Spinelli found?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Must be something important."

"Why don't we look now?"

"They could come back any minute. The last thing we need is for Maxie to find out her boyfriend is involved in this mess. She's not exactly subtle."

"Whatever he's into, you think he realizes?"

"I don't know," she said as she slipped the laptop in her purse. "Maybe he knows to an extent, but I'm sure whatever the full story is he has no idea."

"Nathan! There you are," Maxie said in the hallway. Sam and Jason froze, looking at each other trying to come up with a plan.

"We're trapped," she said as she heard the door open.

"Fair Samantha and Stone Cold, what brings you to my humble abode?" Spinelli asked nervously.

"Just wanted to check out the place," Sam said and Jason nodded. "We'll be leaving now."

"You two totally had sex in here as payback for Spinelli and me having sex in Jason's old place," Maxie accused them.

"Where did that even come from?" Sam asked, actually shocked of what came out of the blonde's mouth.

"Did you break in here?" Nathan asked, looking at the lock. Sam took a deep breath and looked at Jason with apologetic eyes.

"Maxie was right," she said quickly, grabbing Jason's hand and pulling him toward the door. "I just can't keep my hands off my husband these days. We came to visit and things got a little hot on the way here and it was either in the hallway or on the couch. We're gonna go now."

"I knew it," Maxie said with a smirk. "I bet they were role-playing this time too."

"We were not role-playing when was Jason was arrested for solicitation!"

"Was I soliciting you?" he asked and she nodded. "I'm okay with that."

"We're leaving," Sam said, pulling Jason out into the hallway and quickly hopped into the elevator. "I'm sorry."

"Couldn't think of anything better, Miss P.I.?"

"No, but now since I told Maxie she was right, she'll be focused on that and not that Spinelli's computer is missing or that he's been doing work for me," she explained. "And it's Mrs. P.I."

"I stand corrected," he smiled, leaning down to kiss her. "So when did you transition from prostitution to private investigating?"

"You're not funny."

* * *

Robin stepped off the elevator in the hospital and realized she didn't really have a plan for confronting Dr. Finn. She needed to know if he worked on Emily or if she was still stuck in those tanks in some unknown lab.

"Robin, hi," Elizabeth said and Robin internally cursed, knowing she was naïve in thinking she'd just find Finn and no one would stop her. "What are you here for?"

"Just came to see what's going on."

"Okay," Elizabeth said, looking at her questioningly. "When are you guys going back to California?"

"Hopefully soon," Robin said. She caught Dr. Finn out of the corner of her eye and didn't want to lose him. She excused herself and grabbed his arm, pulling him into an empty room.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I know you know who I am, and I know who you are," she said, crossing her arms across her chest. "I need answers."

"I don't know if I can help you."

"Did you ever work on this girl?" she asked, holding up a picture of Emily and she saw his face soften. "Is she dead?"

"No, I half-saved her. I was able to duplicate most of your research, but I couldn't fully bring the person back."

"What does that mean?" she asked, horrible images flashing in her mind.

"They were never able to regain past memories, the hippocampus was very difficult to get to re-stimulate. I think that's why she was given to me by Helena."

"She specifically gave her to you?"

"You see, Helena had plans to gain control of the Quartermaine fortune and wanted the a viable union between a Quartermaine and a Cassadine."

"Emily and Nikolas were engaged."

"But my dear nephew never followed his grandmothers orders," he said and Robin gasped. "I am Valentin Cassadine. I worked for Helena to allow her to think she had me under her control, but that was not the case."

"You tampered with her immortality treatments."

"You are brilliant, Dr. Scorpio. You were successful in everything you did, but I could not allow you to succeed in that area."

"Where is Emily?"

"She was taken from me when Helena realized I was falling in love with her, but was unable to handle that she was kept from her family and could not remember her past life. I was in love with a shell of a person and I could not live with myself if I followed Helena's plans."

"So who has her?"

"I don't have an answer," he said sadly. "Please keep my identity a secret."

"I can't do that," she said honestly. "I need to find my friend, and my husband and two others are helping."

"Samantha and Jason Morgan," he said knowingly.

"They won't say anything."

"I have plans, Dr. Scorpio. If you are willing to work with me, I believe we all can be much happier in the end."

"I don't like how that sounds."

"I trusted you with my secret, I need you to trust in me," he said before walking out.

* * *

Jason and Sam made it back to her apartment without incident, ignoring the text from Spinelli that questioned if the couch he was currently sitting on had been used for fornication purposes. Sam chose to ignore it while Jason laughed away in the passenger seat.

"Glad to see you still have a sense of humor," she smirked.

"Did I not use to find these things funny?" he asked, noticing her tone.

"Oh you did, you just weren't as open about how funny you really did think they were. It's nice not having to figure out what's in your head as often as I used to, although I am a pro when it comes to Jason Morgan."

"I have no doubts about that," he smiled, kissing the top of her head. "Shall we find out what was so important?"

"Moment of truth," Sam said as she opened the laptop and began to look through it. "No wonder why Spinelli didn't want Maxie to see any of this. Nathan was married."

"Didn't Maxie ask you to look into whoever Claudette is?"

"No, but I offered," she said and gasped when she opened the file on Claudette. "It can't be."

"What?"

"Jason, it's Emily," she said, showing him the pictures that came up. "Claudette is Emily."


	15. XV.

Robin went straight to Anna's after the hospital, hoping that Patrick was home to tell him what she found out. She didn't know what to make of Dr. Finn being Valentin Cassadine. From what she had heard, Valentin was supposedly the worst of them all and that didn't appear to be the case. She walked in and saw Patrick was on the phone.

"Yeah, Robin just got back. See you soon," he said before hanging up. "Sam found something."

"Good, so did I," she said as she sat down on the couch. "When are they coming here?"

"Now, she called from the car. Her and Jason just picked up Danny from school, so they're on their way," he explained. "What did you find out?"

"I'm still trying to process it," she sighed. "I didn't find Emily."

"Was Dr. Finn helpful at all?"

"Oh yeah," she nodded. They heard a knock on the door and Patrick went to answer.

"Hey," Sam said, carrying Danny in and Jason followed. "I would have dropped Danny off somewhere, but I didn't want to wait to tell you guys what I found."

"Emma's playing upstairs, Danny can join her," Patrick said, taking Danny from Sam. He smiled, realizing how much he missed spending time with him. "Wanna go play with Emma?"

"Yeah!" Danny said happily.

"Did you talk with Dr. Finn?" Jason asked Robin, who nodded. "How did that go?"

"It was interesting," she said, not wanting to reveal his identity until Patrick came back down. "You guys found out what Obrecht has to do with this all?"

"Not exactly," Sam said. "I'm not really clear on her involvement yet, but she's connected."

"Now that the kids are out of earshot, what's the news?" Patrick said, sitting on the chair next to Robin.

"I found the long-lost Cassadine," Robin said and they stared at her in shock. "Dr. Finn is actually Valentin Cassadine."

"Did Helena know when he worked in the lab?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "He worked on Emily. She's alive, but has no memory. Apparently the memories are fragile when they come back, which makes sense why it's taking so long for Jason to remember his past since the accident affected his brain."

"Well, I found Emily," Sam said. "Maxie came to me a few weeks ago and said that Nathan was lying to her about some ex-girlfriend of his named Claudette. Turns out that he was married to Claudette, and Claudette is actually Emily."

"You think he knows?" Patrick asked. "He's been in town for a while now."

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "It's strange that he lied about having an ex, but he didn't know Obrecht was his mother until recently, so I don't know what to make of it."

"What do we do now?"

"We couldn't find a location yet on Emily," Jason said. "Spinelli said he was going to dig deeper into it, but Maxie showed up so he stopped."

"She can't know, not yet," Robin said. "She's not going to handle it well when she finds out Nathan lied about being married, but she definitely won't listen to reason if she finds out Claudette is Emily."

"We can't tell Monica yet either until we know that we can find her," Sam said and Jason nodded in agreement.

"She's technically not the Emily we know, unless I can figure out what happened to her memories," Robin sighed. "Dr. Finn said she has no memories at all, she was a shell of a person – his words."

"How do we know he isn't playing us? That this isn't part of Helena's great plan of revenge," Jason questioned. "Maybe my sister really does remember and he's holding her captive."

"I don't think so," Robin said honestly. "I didn't get that vibe from him. He was rather forthcoming about knowing Emily, but vague about everything else."

"He fell in love with her, didn't he," Sam said and Robin nodded.

"He said Helena wanted the union of a Quartermaine and a Cassadine she could control, and that was Valentin. He said he couldn't be with her knowing she had no memory of her past life and knowing that she had a family waiting for her," Robin said.

"Dr. Finn should have a conversation with Elizabeth," Sam said, causing Jason to chuckle. "Seriously, a Cassadine – who is supposedly insane – has a better conscience than she does. That says a lot."

"What's so important about a Cassadine marrying a Quartermaine? Didn't she technically get that with you and Jason?"

"Well she hates me," Sam said simply. "She would have had it if Emily didn't 'die,' her and Nikolas were engaged."

"That's what I said, but Nik never followed her orders," Robin said. "She wanted control over the Quartermaine's money and knew Nik wouldn't allow that, I guess."

"Fast forward a couple years and he stole ELQ out from under them," Sam said.

"Maybe he followed her orders after all," Robin said. "Maybe he doesn't realize."

"Like Jason?"

"You think Helena had Nikolas chipped and that's why he's no longer the 'Good Cassadine?'" Patrick asked and Robin nodded. "I don't see how that's possible."

"He did have a brain tumor all those years ago," Robin said. "Emily thought he was the Text Message Killer because he would blackout and get really angry."

"So he's like Franco and a brain tumor is going to wipe clean all the mistakes he's done?" Jason said, obviously not liking that idea.

"Isn't that the same thing as being chipped?" Patrick reasoned. "You tried to kill Sam on Helena's orders."

"And I stopped myself," Jason said defensively. Sam rested her hand on his arm and he quickly relaxed. "Even though I didn't know what was going on, I realized that the things I was doing was wrong and out of my control."

"Franco tortured people for fun, he knew what he was doing," Sam said, unwilling to give Franco the benefit of the doubt. She knew she was very biased in this situation, but Nikolas hadn't gone as far as killing anyone like Franco did. "Nikolas is going to be looking for Valentin."

"I don't think he'll be successful," Robin said. "You only found 'Dr. Finn,' and I would have never guessed who he really was and I worked with him from time to time."

"If Nikolas wants the Cassadine fortune so badly, maybe we can get him to turn over ELQ," Jason said. "Use what we know as leverage."

"Dr. Finn's got some plan, I don't think it's a good idea if we interfere with whatever he's come up with."

"So we just let him do what he wants?"

"No, we figure it out," Sam said. Her phone started to buzz in her pocket so she excused herself and answered it when she saw it was Lucky. "Hey, what's up?"

" _Hayden came to the precinct today with the bullet they pulled from her skull and asked for me to run a ballistics test, so I put a rush on it and since the lab was quiet they just called_."

"Tell me it doesn't match Shawn's gun."

" _Well thank you for ruining my punch line_ ," he said with a smirk. " _I could report this and get them to re-open the investigation and get Butler released_."

"That would be great. Shawn's innocent. Why am I sensing some hesitation?"

" _I had another test run, and Hayden isn't really who she says she is_.  _Her name is Rachel Berlin, her father is the guy who ran the Ponzi scheme_."

"She's Raymond Berlin's daughter?" Sam said in shock, noticing the confusion on everyone's face. "Are you going to be at the precinct?"

" _I'll be leaving in a little bit. I can stop by your place before I go home_."

"That'll be perfect," she said before hanging up. "My dear cousin got himself in one hell of a mess."

"Why?" Jason asked.

"Hayden is Rachel Berlin, whose father is serving time in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme. Nikolas was potentially her mark to get the money back."

"You think that's why she was shot?" Patrick asked and Sam shrugged.

"I don't know. Lucky's stopping by when he gets off from work. We should go," she said to Jason, who nodded. "I don't know how long it's going to take Spinelli to find where Emily is, and I know you guys can't stay here forever."

"We bought tickets to go back home tomorrow," Robin said. "I have the equipment necessary in my lab back in California to figure out what happened with Emily, so I'll see if I can find out what goes wrong with the memories."

"You've got a willing test subject here," Jason offered. "I get flashes, that's it."

"I'll see what I can do."

"It was really good to see you guys," Sam said, hugging Robin and then Patrick. Jason felt a twinge of jealously when he saw Sam in Patrick's arms.

"We used to date too, you know," Robin whispered knowingly as she hugged Jason. "I'm glad they had each other while they didn't have us."

"Yeah, in retrospect though it's a little awkward double-dating with your fiancée and your wife and her boyfriend," Jason said bitterly. "She took so much time away from us."

"If I learned anything from being away from my family, it was that you can't dwell on the time lost. You just have to make the most of every moment you have with her and Danny," Robin said.

"You're right," he nodded. He smiled as he saw Sam come down with a sleeping Danny in his arms. "Did Emma tire him out?"

"The tea party was too exciting for him," Sam laughed. "Let's get him to bed."

* * *

"I noticed you and Robin having a little moment earlier," Sam said as she poked at her lo mein. "Do you remember your relationship with her?"

"Not really," he shook his head. "I remember us on the bridge. She told me before we used to date."

"She was always supportive of you," Sam said. "She's saved you countless times, I think I'll forever be thanking her."

"I just wish I could remember more," he said sadly.

"It'll come to you, and even if it doesn't that's okay," she said, kissing him. Someone knocked on the door and Sam started laughing. "Nothing has changed."

"I got it," he said, standing up and walking over to answer the door. "Lucky, come in. We have Chinese food if you're hungry."

"Thanks, but I told the boys I'd take them out to eat," he said as he sat down.

"How's Jake doing?" Sam asked, knowing Jason wanted to know. "And Cam and Aiden, too."

"They're great. Cam told me the other day this is the happiest he's seen Jake since he came back."

"That's good," Jason said. He missed thinking that Jake was his son, but knew that he was better off. After Jake had said Elizabeth made him feel like he had to not like Sam, Jason knew she would make it more difficult to spend time with Jake while he was with Sam. "So what brings you here?"

"I matched a bullet to the gun of a known hired hitman," Lucky said.

"Then what's the hesitation of submitting the evidence and re-opening the case so Shawn can be released?" Sam asked. "Someone obviously figured out who Hayden was and wanted her gone."

"Little convenient though that she was shot right as she was going to tell me who I really was," Jason said and Lucky nodded.

"She's convinced she was shot for that reason," Lucky said. "I think it's just a coincidence that she happens to be Rachel Berlin. No one ever knew what his family looked like."

"Ric did bring her into town to keep you and Elizabeth apart when you were still Jake Doe," Sam said. "But how did she end up with Nikolas?"

"He knew she wasn't married to me, they were sleeping together and she probably figured out what he knew," Jason said.

"So you think Nik had a woman shot just so he could keep Jason's identity a secret?" Sam said in shock, looking at Lucky who was looking at the floor. "Lucky, this is your brother were talking about."

"I know, and possibly my mother and Elizabeth," he said. "After Hayden was shot, I'm sure they figured out what for."

"Nikolas wouldn't have hired someone without covering his ass," Jason said.

"I still don't want to risk having my mother sent to prison for being an accomplice," Lucky said. "I was hoping you could see if there's anything that leads back to Nik before I re-open the case."

"So I can get rid of it and you can just swap out gunmen in Pentonville," Sam said and Lucky nodded. "I'll see what I can find. On one condition."

"What?"

"If there is a trail that goes back to Nikolas and I take it, we get to use it as leverage to get ELQ back," Sam said. "We need him to sign over his shares to Jason so the Quartermaines get control back."

"Fine," Lucky said as he stood up and headed toward the front door. "Just keep this between us. Hayden doesn't know I was coming to you guys."

"Yeah, sure," Jason said before Lucky shut the door behind him. "Just add it to the list of stuff we have to keep to ourselves."

"If Nikolas really had Hayden shot just to keep ELQ, I don't know how to handle that," Sam said.

"We don't know for sure. Maybe Helena hired someone," Jason said, not liking that he was giving Nikolas the benefit of the doubt but knowing Sam needed to hear it. He kissed her forehead before he began to clean up, hearing Danny running down the stairs.

"Can we watch a movie?" Danny asked, snuggling up to next his mom. Sam smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. "Mommy! You squeeze me."

"I just love my Danny so much," she said as she started tickling him. "What do you want to watch?"

"Cars!"

"Good choice, baby," Sam smiled, kissing the top of his head. "You want anymore food?"

"No, I'm full. I have room for ice cream though," he said, a mischievous grin crossing his face.

"I thought you were full?"

"Mommy, there's always room for ice cream," Danny told her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I think our son is right," Jason said, leaning over the couch to pick Danny up and swing him over his shoulder. "I spotted some ice cream in the freezer."

"Yay!" Danny squealed as Jason carried him into the kitchen. Jason sat him down on the counter and pulled out bowls from the cabinets. "I like having you as my dad."

"I like being your dad, buddy."

"Mommy always showed me pictures and would tell me stuff about you," he said, watching intently at the amount of scoops Jason gave him. "She said you're the best daddy ever."

"You think she was right?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded excitedly. "She's the best mommy too. I guess I got lucky."

"I think it's me and your mom who are the lucky ones," he said, kissing the top of his head before helping him off the counter. "Ready to watch Lightening McQueen?"

"Yeah," Danny said, carrying his ice cream into the living room and plopping down on the couch. Jason handed Sam a bowl and she smiled at him appreciatively.

"Danny, since it's getting warmer out I was thinking of signing you up for little league," Sam said. "I know you didn't like soccer too much, but baseball is fun."

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Your Mom and I will help you practice, and we'll go to all your games," Jason said and Sam saw Danny's entire face light up. Sam choked back tears when she realized why soccer didn't work last year, knowing all the kids would practice with their dad and Danny didn't have that.

"Okay that sounds like fun," Danny said happily. "Sh! The movies starting!"

* * *

Jason climbed into bed next to Sam, noticing she had a distant look in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"What's up? Did Cars get to you?"

"Yeah," she laughed, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I just realized how much Danny's really needed you all these years. I've always tried to do everything I could for him, and Patrick was great, but he wasn't you. He wasn't his dad."

"You're a wonderful mother, Sam," Jason said, pressing a kiss against her temple. "I hate that I left you two the night we got Danny back."

"That's who you were Jason, you still are that person. You help your friends," Sam said. "I'm scared for you in ways that I never was before because I know what it feels like to lose you and I don't think I can handle losing you again."

"You won't have to."

"You don't know that for sure," Sam said. "You don't let others make decisions for you, Jason, you never have. You nearly ripped my head off when I tried to handle things and kept some stuff from you when you were healing after brain surgery because I wanted you to get better. I will never tell you what to do, and if you wanted to run head first into danger I would have to let you go and pray you came home to us. That's what our love is, that's why we're meant to be together."

"You're right, I can't promise what's going to happen in the future," he said, maneuvering so he was hovering over her. "I can promise you that I plan to appreciate every moment I have with you and our son, I don't want to miss out on anything else. So, I was wondering …"

"If you're proposing to me, we're already married," she smirked, trying to get the butterflies in her stomach to relax.

"I was wondering if your offer was still open," he said, brushing her hair away from her face.

"For you to move in?"

"If you'll have me," he said with a small smile. "I want to wake up to you every morning and hold you in my arms at night, and get to help Danny with his homework and get ready for bed."

"I would love that," Sam said quietly, feeling a tear escape her eye. "You really want to move in with us?"

"More than anything," he said and smiled when he saw how happy she was. He leaned down to kiss her and she rolled them over so she was straddling him.

"Think you're ready to see what goes on when you're not here? Not pretty sometimes," she said.

"Doubt that," he said, running his hands up and down her sides. "You trying to keep me away?"

"No, I just want to make sure you'll stay forever."

"That sounds good to me."


	16. XVI.

"I guess it's a good thing you didn't have too much stuff," Sam said as she closed the box she had just filled. "We're almost done."

"I had more things then I thought," he said as he carried a box out from the bedroom.

"You're sure you want to move in with Danny and me," Sam said. She knew he still wanted to get to know who he was on his own and didn't want him to feel like he couldn't do that. "Things are fine how they are."

"Do you not want me to move in?"

"No, that's not it at all," she said quickly, walking over to him and grabbing his hand. "I want you to move in more than anything."

"I don't feel pressured to move in," he reassured her, knowing what she was thinking. "When I come back here and I know that you and Danny are at the penthouse, it doesn't feel right. We've lost out on too much time."

"I know, but you still don't have your memories. You don't really know who you were and you're still learning who you are," she said, trying to articulate her thoughts in the best way. "I don't want your identity to be based on our relationship or whatever expectations you may think I have. You're so much more than that and I don't want to prevent you from learning that."

"You have helped me realize that I'm more than what people have described me as," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "I've become a lot more comfortable with being Jason Morgan because of you, because you're honest and caring, and you want and see the best in people."

"Only when it's warranted, and you are the best man I know," she said with a smile. "I just wanted to make sure before we carried all three of your boxes to the car."

"There's at least five," he smirked. "It's a shame to be leaving though."

"Why?"

"We didn't properly, uh, christen, the place," he said as his hands moved lower on her body.

"I don't see why we can't now," she smiled. She linked her fingers in his belt loops as she started to walk backward toward the bedroom. "We've got time."

"Start here, then maybe work our way around the apartment," he whispered in her ear before moving down to kiss her neck.

"Might have to officially move out tomorrow," she said breathlessly.

* * *

Lucky was getting ready to head to the precinct when he saw Elizabeth sitting on the couch, flipping through the book from Helena again. He sighed, knowing that she's been losing sleep over wondering what happened to Jake while he was with Helena.

"The story isn't going to change the more you read it," he said as he sat next to her. "You're tormenting yourself, get rid of the book."

"I can't. Don't you want to know what happened to our son?" she asked. Lucky couldn't help his smile when she said that, knowing Jake was truly his.

"Of course I do, but I've learned that Helena's power lies in her manipulation. We might be better off ignoring what she left," Lucky said, thinking about all the trouble the woman has caused his family.

"I can't do that," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "I can't always wonder what happened. There has to be a way to find out."

"We don't even know where he was held. Robin would have said something if she knew Jake was where she was."

"But Helena left Robin files on people she didn't know were being kept."

"I think it's going to bring more good than bad," he said honestly. "We have our boy back and he's happy and healthy, that's all that matters."

"I guess," she sighed, not convinced. She understood Lucky's reluctance to look into this, but knew she couldn't let it go.

"I gotta go to work," he said, knowing the conversation wasn't going anywhere. "Maybe we can go to dinner later? My mom can watch the boys."

"Yeah, I'd like that," she smiled.

She put the book in the end table drawer and planned on getting some housework done since she was alone, but that plan lasted for all of five minutes when she threw the book in her bag and headed to find out if she could convince Jason to help her. She hoped that because he thought Jake was his son and really got to know him when they were together, he would help her.

Elizabeth parked in front of the apartment building and headed up to the apartment Robin said Jason was living in now. She recognized it as Sam's old building and sighed, seeing yet another sign of their rekindled romance thrown in her face. She took a deep breath to calm her emotions before knocking. She heard laughter and movement from the other side, and prayed the universe would be on her side just once and that Jason would be alone.

"Now's not really a good time," he said when he opened the door and she tried to hide the hurt she felt from showing in her expression.

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't have come over here but I don't know who else to talk to anymore about this," she said, pulling the book out of her bag and handing it to him.

"Jason, I swear if that's Carly at the door, she's just going to have to stay and watch," Sam said as she walked out of the bedroom in nothing but Jason's shirt and froze when she saw Elizabeth. "You're not Carly."

"No," was all Elizabeth could come up with. Her heart clenched and she felt nauseous knowing that they've been together intimately. "I'm sorry, I should go."

"No, you're already here," Sam muttered, looking at Jason who just shrugged. "I'm going to put some pants on."

"I did say it was a bad time," Jason said, gesturing Elizabeth to sit on the couch. He stood and flipped through the book he was holding. "Is this what Helena left you?"

"She did something to him, Jason," Elizabeth said, wiping at the tears that filled her eyes. "I can't ignore it."

"Did you talk to Lucky? He is Jake's father," Jason said, placing the book on the coffee table. Sam came out of the bedroom and sat down in the armchair. Jason smirking, noticing that she just put on pair of his boxers under the t-shirt she was wearing. Sam picked up the book to see what brought Elizabeth over.

"He thinks it's just Helena's way to manipulate us from the grave," Elizabeth said and Sam hummed in agreement. Elizabeth glared at her. "He thinks I should let it go."

"Can you really blame him for thinking that? Helena's put him and his family through hell for years," Sam said, taking note of the dirty looks she was getting from Elizabeth. "Has Jake said anything about his time in captivity?"

"No, but that doesn't mean anything. She clearly conditioned him the way she conditioned Jason."

"Maybe he needs more time to break past it."

"What if this was Danny? Would you let it go?" Elizabeth snapped.

"No, but I would have searched for answers the minute after he returned and not have waited this long," Sam said nonchalantly. "But I guess you did have your hands full trying to make sure Jason didn't remember who he was."

"You sure didn't waste any time jumping back into bed with him."

"He is my husband, as you knew when you got ready to marry him," Sam shrugged.

"If Lucky doesn't want to look into this, I don't think I can help," Jason said, cutting them off before things escalated. He sat down on the arm of the chair Sam was sitting in and rested his hand on her back, feeling her relax into his touch. "It's not my place to say anything."

"I'm asking as a friend, Jason," Elizabeth pleaded. "Before all this, before  _her_ , we were friends. Please."

"Before me?" Sam said. "I never kept Jason from his friends, from making his own choices. Let's not confused our actions, Elizabeth."

"I don't know," he sighed, feeling conflicted. He wanted to help Jake find out, but he didn't want Elizabeth to misconstrue his intentions; and he didn't want to potentially upset Sam by helping.

"Maybe we can look into it," Sam said, looking at the last page of the book with a drawing of Helena and Jake. "I might know where to begin."

"Where?"

"I can't disclose that information," she said, handing the book back to Elizabeth. "You were right when you said I wouldn't let it go if this was Danny. I think if Helena did something to Jake, then we need to find out."

"Okay," Jason nodded, smiling at Sam and her ability to astound him. "I'd feel better having Lucky on board, though."

"I can talk to him," Sam offered.

"No, I can," Elizabeth said quickly, putting the book back in her purse and standing up to leave. "Thank you."

"We'll let you know if we find out anything," Jason said as he walked her out. She looked like she was going to say something, but thought better of it and left.

"I'll still talk to Lucky," Sam said with a nod. Jason smiled at her as he walked over and picked her up out of the chair. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and her hands rested on his shoulders as he kissed her passionately.

"You're amazing," he whispered when they pulled apart.

"Jake deserves to know what happened to him, especially if it's going to bite him in the ass later on," Sam said.

"Were you really going to make Carly watch if it was her at the door?" he asked jokingly as he laid her down on the couch and hovered over her.

"She'd understand," Sam said as she pulled his shirt over his head. "I was almost tempted to make Elizabeth watch."

"She definitely would have loved that," Jason chuckled as he bunched up the shirt she was wearing to reveal her stomach.

"Can't say I care much how she'd feel about that," she said breathlessly, losing focus as she felt Jason's fingers graze her sides. "She interrupted us."

"I think we were right about here," he said as he leaned down to kiss her, his hands moving to the waistband of the boxers she had on.

* * *

"Hey Sam, I'm just calling about what we talked about the other day. When you get a chance, call me back, thanks," Lucky said into the phone. He wanted to get this Hayden Barnes situation settled as soon as possible.

"You and Sam, huh?" Dante asked, trying to initiate a conversation. Things have been tense between them and what Dante had hoped would improve over time didn't.

"No, she's married to Jason still. She's helping me out with something," Lucky said.

"This how things are gonna be from now on?"

"There's just a lot going on right now."

"I love your sister."

"I don't doubt that. Did she tell you what Helena left us in her will?"

"No, she just wanted to forget about it. Why?"

"She knew Jake was my son and left Elizabeth a book hinting that she did something to him. The old bitch is still screwing with my family from the grave."

"You going to look into it?"

"Elizabeth wants to, I want to forget about it."

"You'll never really forget about it, it'll always be in the back of your mind."

"Glad you realize that," Lucky said and Dante sighed, realizing he walked right into that one.

"Everything good?" Nathan asked, sensing the tension between the two men.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"Okay," Nathan said, knowing that wasn't true but wasn't going to push. He didn't know Lucky well enough to do that and he knew Dante well enough to know not to. "Do you have those reports Jordan asked for?"

"Yeah, they're here somewhere," Lucky said as he shifted through the paperwork on his desk. He accidentally knocked over a picture frame and cursed, hoping it didn't break. Nathan bent down to pick it up and looked like he saw a ghost. Lucky eyed him curiously as he put the reports in a file to give to him. "You good?"

"Sorry, yeah," he nodded, exchanging the picture frame for the folder. "You all look so young in that picture."

"Taken a long time ago," he said as he placed it back on his desk. "Young and in love."

"I should get these to Jordan," Nathan said before leaving.

"That was weird," Dante said and Lucky agreed. "Who's in the picture?"

"Me, Nikolas, Elizabeth, and Emily," Lucky said as he put the picture in his drawer. "You think I should help Elizabeth?"

"I think that as much as you want to ignore it, you won't be able to," Dante said. Lucky sighed and nodded, knowing he was right. "Let me know if I can help."

"Thanks, I don't even know where to start."

"Cassadine Island sounds like a good place."

Nathan stopped in the hallway and looked around to make sure no one was within earshot before he pulled out his phone to make a call.

"We need to talk about Claudette," he said. "I'll meet you later."

* * *

Sam and Jason eventually made it out of his apartment to bring his stuff to the penthouse. It all felt surreal to her to have him moving in, to actually have him back in her life. He offered to pick up Danny from school and get some groceries, so Sam was unpacking some of the boxes that were stacked in the living room. She was upstairs making room in her closet when she heard someone knocking on the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she yelled as she walked downstairs. Lucas and Carly were waiting on the other side. "Hey, come in."

"You busy?" Lucas asked, noticing the boxes.

"No," she shook her head. "What brings you by?"

"Wedding planning," Carly said with a smile. "Did you empty out the storage unit or something?"

"Ah, no," Sam said. "Jason's moving in."

"I'm so happy for you," Carly said and Sam looked at her skeptically. "Really, I am. I thought he should have moved back in months ago."

"I'm happy too," Sam smiled. "Now, let's talk weddings. When's the date?"

"Thinking of doing it after the Nurses Ball, maybe the first week of June," Lucas said.

"That's quick," Sam said, thinking back to planning her and Jason's wedding. "That's a little over a month away."

"We didn't want to wait. We're going to have the ceremony and the reception at the MetroCourt."

"I already booked the ballroom and blocked off hotel rooms for anyone who wants to stay overnight," Carly said, checking her phone to make sure those reservations were definitely in place."Once you decide on colors and flowers I can call our vendors and have them decorate."

"Brad and I just want something simple."

"But it's your wedding day! It's supposed to be beautiful and magical," Carly said. "Just don't elope the night before like Sam and Jason did."

"Hey! Our wedding was beautiful and magical and perfect for us," Sam said defensively. "There was so much going on that it was nice to have that moment just between us. This isn't about my wedding that you were so against anyway, this is about Lucas and Brad. So, what do you need help with?"

"Maxie's driving me up a wall with all these binders, and Brad told me to narrow things down before asking for his opinion because he's crap at making decisions," Lucas sighed as he dropped a stack of binders on the coffee table.

"Don't put her in charge of the rings because they disappear. My engagement ring has never turned up."

"You still have the lug nut?" Carly asked and Sam nodded.

"Interesting," Lucas said. "We ordered invitations a while ago."

"Are the names right?"

"Brad and I took care of that," he smirked. "Tuxes are ordered. We don't have an actual wedding party, but we were thinking of asking our unofficial wedding party to wear the same color."

"Who's in the unofficial wedding party?"

"You two, obviously. Felix and Britt."

"Westbourne?" Sam asked.

"Her and Brad still talk," he said and Sam nodded.

"Well, I look good in green," Carly said with a smile.

"Red is also a lovely choice," Sam said.

"Sounds like Christmas," Lucas said.

"Blue is always a good choice," Sam said as she flipped through the color swatch book.

"Appreciate the input, but the color was the one thing we decided on quickly," Lucas said, pulling out a swatch named 'Greyed Jade.' "You think you can find dresses in this color?"

"I'm sure we'll find something. I like it, very pretty," Sam said.

"Not the shade of green I would have gone with, but I can work with it," Carly said.

"That's done, on to centerpieces." Sam said, rolling her eyes at Carly. "High or low?"

"Low."

"Check that off too, which type of flowers?"

"I can call the florist and have him send over arrangements that work well with the color scheme," Carly said and Lucas nodded. "What else is there?"

"That's it," he said, his tone showing his surprise. "I didn't think it would be that easy."

"It's not but you've got an old pro over here," Sam smirked, gesturing toward Carly.

"Funny," she rolled her eyes. The three of them heard the door unlock and saw Jason walk in with Danny, not expecting to see them there.

"Hey everyone," he said. Sam stood up to help Danny with the shopping bags he was carrying.

"Congratulations on moving back in," Carly said happily.

"Danny, say hi to Aunt Carly and Uncle Lucas," Sam said, ushering him into the living room so she could put everything away.

"Hello!" he said, jumping up on the couch. "What's all this?"

"Uncle Lucas is getting married so we were helping him with some stuff," Carly said, picking Danny up and sitting him on her lap.

"Danny, would you want to have a really important job?" Lucas asked and Danny nodded. "Would you want to be the ring bearer?"

"The ring bear?"

"Bearer," he smiled. "You would carry the rings down the aisle."

"Do I have to dress like a bear?"

"No, silly," Carly laughed, tickling his stomach. "You'd wear a suit and be the most handsome boy there. Sorry, Lucas."

"Okay," Danny nodded. "As long as I don't have to dress like a bear."

"Deal," Lucas said, fist bumping with Danny. "I better get going so Brad can help make final decisions.

"Spinelli called me," Jason said to Sam while they were alone in the kitchen. "He found what we needed. Whatever evidence that leads back to Nikolas is now ours, and Lucky can pin the shooting on just the hitman."

"Which means we can use that to get ELQ back," Sam said and Jason nodded. "That's amazing."

"We should maybe handle this after dinner, get it settled before anything can go wrong."

"I agree," Sam said. "Who should we have watch Danny?"

"I can do it," Carly said, startling the two of them. "I know you two are up to something, and I won't ask what, but I can watch him."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Of course! Michael is going to come by later and Danny loves him, it'll be fine. Drop him off after dinner," she said.

"Okay," Sam nodded. "We'll see you later then."

"Congrats again on moving back in," Carly said before leaving.

"You think Nikolas is going to go for this?"

"I've got a plan that'll persuade him to go along with it," Jason said.

"Do I want to know this plan?" Sam asked skeptically.

"You'll find you," he said. "You trust me?"

"Always," she said, smiling when he kissed her forehead.

* * *

Sam and Jason dropped Danny off by Sonny and Carly's house. He made a beeline to Michael, who was very excited to spend time with Danny. They headed over to Cassadine Island, wanting to get this over as soon as possible. Jason hoped to have good news for the Quartermaines after this.

"What brings you two here?" Nikolas asked when he answered the door. Hayden had been out all day and he was getting concerned over what she was up to. A visit from his cousin and mobster of a husband was not what he needed.

"I need you to stop lying for ten minutes and tell me to my face that you did not have an innocent woman shot just because she was going to tell Jason his identity and that would have ruined your takeover of ELQ," Sam said angrily, getting straight to the point. She saw Nikolas get shifty and realized she hit the nail on the head. "How could you? Who are you?"

"It was just business," he said.

"That's cold."

"That's rich coming from the mob wife."

"Do not compare your actions to Jason's," she said defensively. "You did that out of greed. You kept me from my husband, you kept Danny from his father!"

"I had to do what was best for my family."

"Please, tell me how all this was what's best for Spencer!"

"I don't need to explain myself."

"Well, you might have to if you don't take my deal," Jason said calmly. "And you might want to remember you did this all for Spencer."

"You should probably get your head checked again because you're delusional if you think I'm accepting any deal from you," Nikolas laughed.

"You might want to consider it, especially if you don't want Spencer visiting you in Pentonville," Jason said, catching Nikolas' attention. "We have evidence that connects you to the hitman who will be going to prison for shooting Hayden. If you accept my offer to buy back the shares you stole, that paper trail disappears and you, and Elizabeth and Laura, don't face criminal charges."

"And if I don't?"

"I think that's pretty obvious," Jason said. He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Nikolas. "The money is ready, all you need to do is hand over the shares."

"That's an insult," Nikolas said when he looked at the amount. "The shares are worth much more."

"It's easy money for you since you stole them from the Quartermaines," Sam said. "Don't doubt I won't turn you into the police if you turn down Jason's offer. I'm done trying to hold out hope that the cousin I grew to know and love is somewhere still. Emily would be ashamed of you."

"Emily's dead," he spat. "She's gone, and with her went everything. I did what I had to do for my son."

"Even more of a reason to accept," Jason said. "What's it going to be?"

"Fine," he said in defeat. He went into his safe and pulled out the stock certificates. "Is the paper trail really going to disappear, or are you going to hold it over my head?"

"You'll just have to find out," Sam said with a shrug, smiling as Jason took them from Nikolas.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Jason said as he grabbed Sam's hand to leave.

"How's it feel?" Sam asked as they climbed into his truck to get Danny.

"After everything he's done to us, I don't think there's enough payback in the world, but this is definitely a start," Jason said, handing Sam the files to hold. "I'm just glad to be able to help the Quartermaines."

"Edward and Alan would be so proud of you," Sam said, resting her hand on top his hand that was holding the gearshift. "Are you going to become an upstanding businessman now?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "I don't think so."

"And you thought you were so different," Sam smirked. "Make a right here."

"This isn't the way to Sonny's."

"I know, I texted Michael to bring Danny to the Quartermaines and to wait there for us," Sam said with a smile. "Figured you'd want to share the good news right away."

"I made a good choice with you."

"And don't you forget it."

* * *

"So, why is there a meeting going on in my living room?" Tracy asked. Danny was sitting on her lap with a book.

"Technically it's my living room," Monica whispered to Sam, who tried not to laugh. "Good news, I hope?"

"Yeah," Jason nodded. "You are looking at the majority shareholder of ELQ."

"How is that possibly?" Michael asked, shock evident on his face.

"I was able to convince Nikolas to return the shares for a price."

"Let me guess, you gave him an offer he couldn't refuse," Tracy said sarcastically. "Is this going to bite us in the –"

"You have my son in your lap," Sam cut her off.

"A perfectly legal offer. I bought them," Jason said, smiling at Sam's fierceness when it comes to Danny. "ELQ is now back with the family."

"Jason, that's wonderful," Monica said, going over to hug him.

"Are you taking over as CEO?" Michael asked.

"Ah, no," Jason shook his head. "I was actually thinking you might want your old job back."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I just have on request. The shares get redivided according to Edward's will. I spoke to Diane and she gave me the run down."

"Which means you'll get 11.5% and Danny gets 6.5," Sam said, stepping up next to Jason.

"And I get none," Tracy said bitterly.

"Your father and grandparents would be so proud of you, Jason," Monica said. "You've restored the Quartermaine legacy."

"Never thought Jason Morgan would be our savior," Tracy said.

"Maybe you should go before things go downhill, I think that's her version of thank you," Monica said.

"We should probably get Danny to bed," Sam said, taking him from Tracy. "I'm really glad things worked out for the best. I know you're gonna do great things, Michael."

"Thanks, Sam," he said, hugging her and Danny. They were almost out the door when Tracy stopped them.

"Jason, you broke your grandfather's heart when you rejected the family and forged the life you did," Tracy said and everyone braced themselves for the worst. "I know for a fact that he's smiling down on you now."

"Thank you," Jason said. He took Sam's hand and they walked back to his truck. He took Danny from Sam so he could buckle him into his car seat.

"Dad, are you coming home with us?" Danny asked, yawning midway through his question. Jason nodded in response. "Are you gonna stay forever?"

"Yeah, buddy. You're just going to have your regular big boy room, is that okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. Jason kissed the top of his head before shutting the door and going to the driver's side.

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, noticing Sam wiping at her eyes.

"Everything's perfect," she smiled. She'll never get tired of watching Danny and Jason interact with each other. "We got one thing checked off the list, and I just texted Lucky so Shawn should be released soon."

"On to the next mission," he sighed.


	17. XVII.

"Thanks for coming down here," Jason said to Spinelli as they went through boxes in the storage unit.

"No thanks necessary," Spinelli said. "I was surprised when I received your call, but exhilarated that you did invite me to accompany you."

"There is a lot of stuff in here," Jason said as he closed one box and moved onto another. "It's a shame I can't remember any of it."

"Perhaps one day," Spinelli said hopefully. "If Robin's research goes well, she'll be able to help you and Emily retrieve your memories."

"We have to find Emily first."

"I am on the hunt at all hours of the day, but she has been well hidden, unfortunately."

"There are a lot of guns stored in here," Jason said, amazed at the amount of firearms in one box.

"Occupational hazard," Spinelli joked. "There was one time I used a gun."

"Did you shoot yourself?"

"You remember?" Spinelli said excitedly.

"No, you just don't seem like you're handy with a weapon," Jason said.

"You are correct," he laughed. "Some of these are Fair Samantha's as well."

"Good to know," he said as he dug through the box when something shiny caught his eye. He pulled out what looked like an engagement ring and noticed the inscription on the inside – 'Just You and Me.'

"Where did you find that?" Spinelli asked, immediately recognizing the ring. "Maxie thought she lost that on you forever."

"The bottom of the box. Who's ring is this?"

"Fair Samantha's engagement ring."

"I never gave her a ring?"

"You gave her a type of ring," Spinelli explained. "A nut that she wore on a chain upon her neck. It was unique and perfect for you both."

"I'm sure," he said skeptically as he placed the ring in his pocket. "When is Ellie coming to town."

"I do not have an approximate date for her arrival," Spinelli said. Jason noticed how he began to busy himself by moving random boxes.

"Ellie isn't coming," Jason said after a moment.

"I could never hide anything from you," Spinelli sighed. "Memories or not, you're still my dear friend Stone Cold."

"Why isn't she coming?"

"We got into a quarrel a week before my arrival and we have yet to resolve our differences."

"You're avoiding the question."

"Quite perceptive," Spinelli said. "Georgie called Ellie her mom one night. That prompted my return to Port Charles. Maximista is a wonderful mother and Georgie deserves to know who she is. Also, Ellie does not want to have children and was uncomfortable by the moniker."

"Right," Jason said and cleared his throat uncomfortably. He didn't know what to say that would help.

"A listening ear was all that was necessary, my friend," Spinelli smiled. "Advice was never your strong point."

"We should get going," Jason said as he stood up.

"Are you attending the Nurses Ball later in the week?"

"Ah, I don't know," Jason said with a grimace, thinking back to his time with Elizabeth. "Sam hasn't said anything."

"You should go and create a more favorable memory."

"Not a bad idea."

* * *

Sam was in the middle of trying to clean up when she heard a knock on the door. She let out a sigh as she took off the rubber gloves she had on and wondered who was at the door.

"Bad time?" Lucky asked. Sam shook her head 'no' and gestured for him to come in. "Wanted to tell you in person that Shawn has finally been released."

"That's great," Sam smiled.

"I'm assuming everything went well on your end," Lucky said.

"ELQ is back with the Quartermaines, so yeah everything worked well," Sam nodded. "Nikolas had no right to that company, he obtained those shares wrongfully."

"I'm not saying that he did," Lucky laughed. "I'm not defending my brother, I think he got what he deserved. I just wish I knew the reason why he did what he did."

"I'm done trying to make excuses for him. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he kept me and Danny from Jason and it was for money," Sam said, disgust evident in her tone. "I don't think I can truly forgive him for that. Elizabeth remains on my shit list as well."

"I figured," Lucky smirked.

"I convinced her to accept Jason's proposal when he thought he was Jake! I talked to her as a friend and she knew he was Jason at that point. What type of person does that?"

"A desperate one who wants a chance with the person they love."

"I don't know how you still care for her after what she's done to you over the years. You're always there for her, Lucky; and she knows it, that's why she takes advantage of you."

"I think I'll always love Elizabeth, but this time I'm not trying to make things work with her romantically. She needs a friend, she doesn't have many these days," he shrugged. "I decided to help her find out what happened with Jake."

"Good, did she tell you she stopped by Jason's a few weeks ago asking for help?"

"No," he shook his head. "Must have left out that detail."

"I meant to call you to tell you Jason and I agreed to help, but we wanted to make sure you were okay with it. Jake's your son too, you should have a say in this mess," Sam said.

"I appreciate that. I'm sure you two have your own leads to go off on, so I'm going to go off on mine and hopefully we find something out."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Are you going to the Nurses Ball this weekend?"

"I don't know," Sam said. "Jason hasn't mentioned it, and I'm assuming it's because last year's was when Liz found out who he was and started a relationship with him."

"Well, if you decide to go I will see you there," he said as he stood up. "Lulu and my mom convinced me to join in the festivities since it's been a while."

"You'll have a good time, I'm sure," she said. She opened the door and saw Jason and Spinelli heading toward them. "Find everything you need?"

"Yeah," Jason said quickly, looking at Spinelli to make sure he stayed quiet about finding the ring. "Hey Lucky."

"I was just updating Sam on Shawn's release. Glad things went well," Lucky said as he stepped into the hallway. "Are you back here or still in Sam's old place?"

"I moved back in a few weeks ago," Jason said. "Why?"

"I think Elizabeth went there last week," he said and Sam laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, she just makes me laugh."

"Right," Lucky smirked. "See you guys Friday hopefully."

"Friday?" Jason asked as he shut the door. Spinelli went upstairs to get his computer and continue his search, leaving them alone in the living room.

"Nurses Ball," Sam said and Jason nodded.

"Spinelli mentioned that earlier, too. Did you want to go?"

"Only if you want to," she said. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to go with everything that has happened."

"Maybe we should go. I can walk in with you, and everyone will be jealous that I have the most beautiful woman as my date," he said, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her close.

"I like that idea," she smiled, reaching up to kiss him. "We'll have fun."

"We could get a room after," he whispered. "I'm sure we can find someone to watch Danny for the night."

"I like that idea even more," she said. "I'll call Carly for a room, and I'll call Maxie to see if she has anything I can wear."

"Oh, that reminds me," Jason said as he glanced at the stairs. "Spinelli told me about Ellie."

"What did he say?" she asked, smacking his chest excitedly. She's been wanting to know where Ellie has been but didn't want to push, but she was at her breaking point.

"Georgie called Ellie 'mom' and they all freaked out it sounds like."

"That's hard," Sam said. "Danny called Patrick 'dad' once and I pulled out all the photos to make sure he knew who you were."

"I'm very grateful that I get to know our son."

"Me too," she smiled, placing her hand against his cheek. "I'm excited for Friday."

"I am too," he said and didn't miss the skeptical look on her face. "What?"

"You've never been one for parties and things like this."

"As long as I'm with you, it's worth it," he said, kissing her forehead.

"Pardon the intrusion," Spinelli said from the stairs. "I believe I've found something of interest."

"Did you find Emily?"

"Unfortunately no," he sighed as he sat down on the couch. "What I did find were child-care facilities that were oversaw by the current Chief of Staff."

"Maybe Jake was kept there," Jason said as he looked at the computer screen. "Do we have a record of who was there?"

"If there is one, I have not discovered it yet. I will continue to look."

"We should talk to Dr. Finn," Sam said and Jason nodded.

* * *

Jason and Sam got off the elevator in the hospital to try to talk to Dr. Finn. They rounded the corner and stopped when they saw Obrecht and Nathan whispering to each other. Sam pushed Jason into the nearest room so they could listen in.

"Who did I marry?"

"Claudette Canet," Obrecht told him calmly. "What has caused these questions, Nathan? You divorced her a long time ago."

"I find it strange how Claudette looks exactly like a woman who grew up here, Aunt Liesl."

"Perhaps the doppelgänger stories have some truth behind them."

"I agreed to marry her in return for that favor, and I promised I wouldn't ask questions, but I can't let Maxie find out."

"And she won't if you stay smart and trust me. You must continue to do your part."

"I don't like the sound of that," he sighed.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Sam whispered to Jason.

"I believe Liesl arranged for Nathan to marry Emily under false pretenses," Dr. Finn said, startling Sam and Jason because they didn't realize he was in the room. "Jumpy?"

"Didn't see you there," Sam glared at him. "Did you know?"

"Know you were in here? Yes, I saw you push Mr. Morgan into the room," he smirked.

"Know that Nathan was married to my sister," Jason said, unamused by his antics.

"No," Dr. Finn said sadly. "I was not made privy to her whereabouts after I refused to have a part in the plan."

"Do you know anything about a child being kept by Helena?" Sam asked and handed him a picture of Jake. "This little boy was killed years ago and brought back by Helena. We just want to know what happened to him."

"Children."

"Pardon?"

"Jake was not the only one, there are other children. I don't know who they are or were. Jake was one of the older ones, so I knew him. Helena took a liking to him."

"That's sick," Sam gasped. "Do you know how we can find out?"

"At this moment, I cannot help. Things are in motion that currently need my attention."

"That sounds promising," Jason said, the sarcasm practically dripping in his tone. "When will things not be in motion?"

"Soon," he said vaguely. "I must go."

"You'll be willing to help us?" Sam asked as he walked past them.

"You're family, Mrs. Morgan, of course," he said before leaving.

"Not at all what I expected of the mysterious Valentin Cassadine," Sam said once they were alone.

"You think he'll actually help us?"

"We'll find out," she shrugged. "Let's go, Maxie has stuff at Crimson for me to try on."

"I think I'll head over to ELQ to check in, see how things are running," Jason said, opening the door for Sam.

"Do we have to change the bed sheets?" Franco asked when he saw the two them walk out of the room together. Jason tensed, trying to control his anger. Sam slipped her hand into his to try to calm him down, but it wasn't helping. "I see you two are the happy little family again."

"No thanks to you," Sam said, pulling Jason toward the elevator.

"I'm not the reason Jason was killed, I don't understand the hostility," Franco said. Sam shut her eyes and tried to relax, but Jason went off. He let go of her hand and she braced herself for the worst.

"You're the reason why I died thinking my wife was raped and my son was yours," Jason said, slamming Franco against the wall, his arm pushing against his windpipe.

"Jason, Jason please," Sam said, trying to pull him off Franco.

"I didn't rape her," Franco said in between gasps of air.

"Doesn't matter. You tortured her. You let her think you did."

"Jason, he's not worth it," Sam said, pleading with him. "You promised me, Jason."

"You speak to Sam or Danny again, you come near my family, you won't be this lucky," Jason threatened before letting go. He grabbed Sam's hand and pulled her away toward the elevators. They got into the empty elevator and he leaned against the wall, breathing slowly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked, taking his hands off his head and holding them. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I lost control."

"That wasn't you losing control," she reassured him. "You didn't kill him."

"I don't know if that makes me feel better," he laughed.

"You've always been protective of the ones you love, Jason. There's nothing wrong with that. You are calm and collected and the voice of reason a majority of the time."

"I hate that he's constantly thrown in your face," he said, pulling her close. "You shouldn't have to put up with that."

"I punched him in the face when he returned, it helped," she shrugged. "I can't live my life thinking of what happened. I have too much good to focus on these days."

"Like me?" he smirked.

"Especially you," she said, kissing him.

* * *

"Sam, you look hot," Maxie said when she stepped out of the dressing room. "I think you should go with this one."

"Really?" she asked, looking in the mirror. "I feel like it's a lot going on and I'm short."

"No, it looks great and you'll have those really high heels you love to wear on," Maxie said. "Your boobs look fantastic in that dress. Jason won't be able to take his eyes off you."

"Well, when you put it like that," Sam smirked. "I do like the color."

"Platinum," Maxie said, reading off the inventory book. "The dress is loanable and available, like it was meant to be."

"Very glad I have a friend who works in fashion," Sam said as she went into the dressing room to take the dress off.

"Since Crimson is covering fashion at the Nurses Ball, I need to make sure my friends end up on the best dressed list. No better way to make sure that happens other than dressing you myself," Maxie said, clearly proud of herself. "I picked out Robin's dress last week, it's beautiful."

"They're coming in?"

"Yeah, she didn't want to miss this one since they're back together," Maxie said, pulling out the gown to show Sam. It was a lace gown in a blackberry color, with a scoop neck and a low-cut back. "I couldn't sell her on the two-piece dresses we have."

"Yeah, I can't see Robin wearing a two-piece," Sam laughed. "That I can see her in."

"I'm glad that you and Jason are going together," Maxie said as she hung the dresses up in the storage room.

"Me too. I didn't think he'd want to go so I didn't say anything, but he asked me earlier this morning. I think Spinelli convinced him."

"When is Ellie coming? Because it's been a while."

"Don't know," Sam shrugged as she gathered her stuff. "Hasn't said anything to me."

"But you know something."

"Don't know what you're talking about. I should go, Danny gets out of school soon."

"What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing," she lied. "You're just being paranoid because whatever Nathan's keeping from you you haven't figured out yet."

"You're right," she sighed and Sam did a mental victory dance. "I snooped through his phone, I tried Facebook, and I came up empty. Whoever Claudette is, she can't be found."

"Try asking him again," Sam said. "Maybe he'll tell you."

"Fat chance," Maxie scoffed.

"Worth a shot. Anyway, thank you for the dress. I have to go, bye," Sam said and rushed out of the office.

"That was strange," Maxie said to herself, but brushed it off.

* * *

Jason headed over to ELQ to see how the transition back to Michael as CEO was going. The secretary led him to Michael's office and let him wait until Michael got out of his meeting.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" Alexis asked as she walked past the office, stopping when she saw him sitting there.

"Came by to check in on things. What are you doing here?"

"Michael wanted to offer Kristina a job here and wanted to run it by me first," she said as she sat down. "He said he overheard Sonny thinking about offering her a job in the warehouse and wanted to give her a different option, which I am grateful for."

"Smart kid, looks like I made a good choice making him CEO," Jason joked.

"Sam told me you bought back the shares from Nikolas. I don't know what's gotten into my bonehead of a nephew, but I'm glad that mess is over with," Alexis said. "She also told me you moved back in."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Didn't want to spend anymore time away from my family if I didn't have to."

"I know you don't remember, but I was never fully on board with your relationship with my daughter. I thought you were dangerous and I didn't want to see Sam make the same mistakes I did involving men in your line of business, but I realized I was wrong. You are the only man to make her truly happy, and I could never deny that you loved her more than anything."

"I still do."

"I'm glad," she said. "This is my way of giving you my long overdue approval, which is obviously not necessary."

"I appreciate it," Jason said. "I'm sure Sam does as well."

"Will we be seeing you two at the Nurses Ball?"

"Yeah, we decided to go this morning."

"Julian and I would be happy to take Danny for the night," Alexis said with a smirk.

"I'll let Sam know."

"Hey Jason," Michael said. Alexis excused herself to leave the two men alone. "What's up?"

"Just stopped by to see how things were going."

"Great," Michael said with a smile. "Took a while to figure out how to get back to our usual system, but we're back to normal."

"Did Nikolas change a lot?"

"It's strange. It's like he was trying to hide stuff," Michael said, going to his desk to pull out a stack of files. "I came across these on the computer and was going to look into it, but I just want to end the involvement with him. ELQ is back and I don't want to tempt anything or anyone."

"Can I take a look at these?" Jason asked, wondering if these could connect back to Emily and Jake.

"You can have them."

"Thanks," Jason said as he grabbed the stack off the desk. "I'm glad to see everything is going well."

"Couldn't have happened without you," Michael said genuinely. "I decided to work here to get to know A.J. and I ended up really enjoying it. It's fitting that you were the one to help get the shares back, you've always found a way to help me."

"I should let you go back to work," Jason said, feeling awkward. He heard stories of how he took care of Michael and the rest of the kids, but lacking the emotional attachment that they still had toward him was strange.

"Whatever you need those files for, I hope it's helpful."

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

"Looks like you were busy today," Sam said, eyeing the stack of folders Jason just dropped on the coffee table. "Changed your mind about working at ELQ after all?"

"No, I'm still good on that end. These are files that Michael said were hidden by some new system Nikolas instilled at ELQ."

"Interesting," she said as she picked one up and began to flip through the paperwork. She noticed there were surveillance photos of Spencer at his boarding school. "Why would Nikolas have people watching Spencer?"

"I don't think Nikolas is the one who was watching him," Jason said as he handed Sam transcripts of communications between someone. "Maybe Helena threatened Spencer."

"Why would she do that? That's her great-grandson."

"Is that a serious question?" Jason asked and Sam sighed. "This might be the reason you've been looking for to explain his change in personality."

"Damages been done already," Sam grumbled. "He should have came to me or someone, I could have helped."

"Did you pick out a dress?" he asked to change the subject to avoid upsetting her.

"Oh yeah, it's a good dress," she smirked.

"And what's so good about it?" he asked, taking the folder out of her hand and gently pushing her back on the couch.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she smiled as she leaned in to kiss him.


	18. XVIII.

"Go Danny!" Sam cheered as she watched her son run around the bases after scoring his first run. Jason was clapping and cheering next to her. Danny ran over to them after he reached home plate and launched himself at Jason. The game was over and all the kids were running toward their parents.

"Did you see me?" he asked excitedly as Jason lifted him up to sit on his shoulders.

"Yeah, you won the game," Jason said. "Looks like all that practice paid off."

"Did you have fun buddy?"

"I like baseball," he nodded.

"I think we should celebrate," Jason said. "Ice cream?"

"Ice cream!" Danny cheered happily.

"I will have to pass on ice cream," Sam said sadly. "I need to pick up my dress and your suits for tonight."

"Want us to come with you?" Jason asked.

"No, stay here, Danny isn't going to want to leave," she said, kissing Jason quickly. "Don't get too dirty, Danny."

"I'll try," he shrugged. "Bye, Mommy."

"Let me know when you get home," Jason said, pulling her close for a kiss.

"See you later."

Elizabeth was sitting on the bench in the park while her boys were playing in the playground. It was a beautiful day and she didn't want to stay cooped up in the house, even though she wished she did when she saw Jason with Sam and Danny. It was still painful to see them together as a family because it was what she wanted with him. She had tried to visit him one night at his apartment but he wasn't there, and then Lucky told her Jason moved back in with Sam. She cried herself to sleep that night, knowing that he was slipping further away from her.

"Looks like a lot has changed since I left town," Ric said as he sat down next to her. "Isn't that Jake Doe who Sam just kissed?"

"Spare me the bullshit, Ric," she sighed. "I'm sure you've heard by now that Jake is Jason."

"Molly did tell me what happened, I've never heard her so angry before. She definitely inherited the Davis girl temper."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for you to apologize to me for being a hypocrite. I wanted to be with you so I paid Hayden to keep Jake away and you acted like that was the worst thing I could have done," he said, a giant smirk gracing his face. Elizabeth tensed, knowing this conversation was going to go from bad to worse. "But you? You found out that very night Jake was your precious Jason and you kept him from his family. You let it go real far, Elizabeth. I'm almost positive bigamy is a no-no, Saint Elizabeth."

"I'm paying for my mistake," she said defensively. "I'm sorry for how I treated you that night. You're right, what I did was worse, and now I get to see Sam happy with him again. It will forever be thrown in my face."

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way. I have two tickets to the Nurses Ball. Would you like to be my date?"

"You're kidding," she said in disbelief.

"I still care about you, Elizabeth. I think we can start fresh now that we have an understanding of each other," he said. "Wallowing in self-pity isn't going to help you or help how everyone perceives you. Own your mistakes and continue to live your life."

"Molly will hate you."

"Molly understands that you can't help who you love," he said sincerely. "I'd like to give us a redo of last year. Plus, I already spent money on the ticket and I don't think I'd be able to convince anyone else to be my date."

"I don't have a dress."

"I've got that covered. All you have to do is say yes," he said as he handed her the ticket.

"Okay," she said quietly, taking it from his hand. "As friends."

"That's a start," he smiled.

* * *

"Sam, you look hot," Kristina said as Sam walked out from the bathroom. "That dress is gorgeous."

"Thanks, so do you," Sam smiled. "Looks like Maxie sold you on a two-piece gown."

"I fell in love with it the minute I put it on," she said as she twirled around in her black dress. "And mom can't say much because of the high neck."

"That's sheer," Sam laughed.

"Your boobs are spilling out," Kristina shot back.

"I'm a married mom."

"In that dress you might end up pregnant," Kristina said and Sam choked on the water she was drinking. "Molly's meeting us there with Mom and Julian. Did you know Uncle Ric was back in town?"

"No I didn't, that's good for Molly," Sam said, not really fond of Ric. "Does my hair look okay?"

"Yeah," Kristina nodded, always liking how Sam's hair looked when it was curled with just the front pulled back. "Tonight will be fun."

"We should get going," Sam said as she grabbed her clutch and headed toward Danny's room. "Is my handsome date ready?"

"No," Jason called from the hallway.

"I was actually talking about our son," she said as she squatted down next to Danny. "Ready to go, buddy?"

"This is annoying," he pouted as he pulled at his bow tie. "Do I have to wear it?"

"Just for a little bit," she told him. "Daddy doesn't like wearing ties either. Did you pick out what toys you're bringing to Grandma and Grandpa's house?"

"Of course," he said as he stood up. "Dad helped me before."

"Good, Aunt Krissy is waiting downstairs," Sam said and Danny almost tripped as he ran out of his room to go to Kristina. "Well I know who he likes better."

"Wow," Jason said as he watched Sam stand up. "You look amazing."

"You think so?" she asked.

"I think amazing doesn't cover it," he said as he pulled her close, his hand skimming her thigh that was exposed by the high slit in the dress.

"We should get going," she said quietly. Jason noticed she sounded slightly breathless and smirked, knowing it wasn't just his mind that wandered into dangerous territory. He kissed her gently before taking her hand in his.

* * *

"Oh, make sure you get a family photo of the Morgan's and separate pictures of Sam and Danny," Maxie told Dillon when she saw them walk in.

"Jason?"

"He might punch the camera," Maxie rolled her eyes. "You guys look great!"

"Thanks, we're gonna head in and find our seats," Sam said, trying to avoid the pictures. The look Maxie gave her told her that plan wasn't going to work. "Let's be quick about this, then."

"Quick about what?" Jason asked. Sam shoved him along and told him to smile as Dillon started taking pictures. "Cool, I'm going to find out seats now.

"Just a few more single shots, Sam," Dillon said. "Try to look happy."

"Sister pictures!" Kristina shouted as she ran over to Sam, "This better be the cover, Maxie. The Davis girls will put sales through the roof for Crimson."

"Sam is free, Kristina and Molly have to stay," Maxie said and Sam sighed in relief.

She walked into the ballroom and looked around for Jason, spotting him talking with Carly and Sonny.

"Finally escaped the pictures," Sam said as she linked arms with Jason. "Are we sitting with you guys?"

"Yeah, along with your parents," Carly said and saw Sam's eyes glance at Sonny.

"I'll be on my best behavior," Sonny said with a smirk. "Kristina asked and I can't tell her no."

"Alexis and I will keep them in line."

"I'm sure you will," Sam laughed.

"How's Morgan doing?" Jason asked. He meant to ask Michael the other day but got distracted by the files he took home.

"He's doing better, thank God," Carly said.

"Not for the right reason though," Sonny grumbled. "He's still fixated on Kiki."

"Maybe they'll get back together," Sam offered.

"Yeah, not likely," Carly said, pointing behind Sam toward Kiki and Dillon who looked like they were flirting. "I'm happy for her, to be honest. I want Morgan to get better for him, and I think this might be for the best."

"They would make a cute couple," Sam said. "When is the food being served because I'm starving?"

"Soon," Carly laughed. "Sit, enjoy. I have some things to check on."

"Kristina said Ric is back in town," Sam said to Sonny, who nodded. "You spoke to him."

"We've kept in contact," he said vaguely. "He's coming tonight, he'll be at our table. I didn't know you two were coming."

"You think it's too late to switch tables?" Jason whispered in Sam's ear, making her laugh.

"I think I see Spinelli sitting with Robin and Patrick, let's go say hi," Sam said as she pulled Jason away from Sonny. "Hey everyone!"

"Fair Samantha! You're a vision," Spinell said as he bounced Georgie on his lap. "I could not find a sitter."

"No complaints from us," Mac said with a smile. "I get to spend time with my granddaughter and use her as an excuse to avoid the shenanigans that are going to happen tonight."

"It's all in good fun, Uncle Mac," Robin rolled her eyes.

"Are there two open seats at this table?" Jason asked, to which Sam elbowed him in the ribs. "Danny can sit on my lap."

"Who are you avoiding?" Robin smirked.

"Ric," Sam said. "He'll be on his best behavior for Molly, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but does Molly know who he brought as a date," Patrick said and Sam and Jason turned around in time to see Ric and Elizabeth walk in together.

"So I think we can squeeze two more chairs here," Sam said, garnering a laugh from everyone. "No, but really."

"If everyone could sit down so we can get started!" Lucy announced from the stage. "I'm honored to have been asked to host again this year, and I'm very excited for tonight."

"At least she has her clothes on this time," Mac said and Felicia smacked his arm. "I'll take the baby now."

"I don't like how that sounds," Maxie said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Are you two sitting with us?"

"Unfortunately, no," Sam said and gestured over to their table, where Elizabeth looked very uncomfortable.

"Oh, that is unfortunate. Well, just make out with Jason the whole night," Maxie shrugged, taking Nathan's hand and pulling him to their seats. "Have fun."

"It's not a bad idea," Jason said to Sam as they walked back to their table. Danny was sitting next to Alexis and loving the attention he was getting from everyone.

"Jason! I'm glad to see you here," Monica said, giving them a hug. "I'm guessing Sam convinced you to come."

"Actually, he asked me," she smiled.

"You've always been good for him," Monica said fondly. "I should get back to our table. We've got the town crazies with us."

"Who?" Jason asked and looked over and saw Franco talking to Kiki. "And I thought our table was bad."

"Pick your poison," Sam said as she gestured between the tables. "If Sonny and Julian can try to be civil, I think we'll be okay."

"Sam, I saved you a seat next to me," Kristina said with a smile, which meant she was up to something. Jason pulled Sam's seat out for her and then sat down in the seat next to her, turning to see what Danny was up to. "Molly told me she didn't know she was going to be here."

"It's fine," Sam said, looking over at Molly and smiling to reassure her it really was fine. She then turned toward Lucas and Brad. "You two ready for the wedding?"

"Very ready," Lucas said. "I can see why you eloped."

"What did I say about that!" Carly jumped in. "No eloping."

"I know," Lucas rolled his eyes. "But it makes sense."

"I would like to see one of my children get married, and since Sam is already married and Leo has a long time until that happens, you're it, pal," Julian said.

"If it makes you feel better, none of us have," Alexis said, patting his thigh.

"Any idea what we're in store for this year?" Ric asked.

"Yeah, any stripteases again, Lucas?" Kristina asked with a smirk. "Shame I missed out on that, even though I'm related to half of you."

"My lips are sealed," he said. "I did see Milo backstage, though."

"Plan on embarrassing yourself again, Ric?" Carly asked with a smirk.

"No, going to sit this one out this year," he said, wrapping his arm around Elizabeth. She glanced over at Jason, who wasn't paying any attention to her. "The Haunted Starlets making a return?"

"If they are, I'm sitting out this year too," Sam said. "Coming here was a last minute decision."

"Glad we're here though," Jason said, resting his arm along Sam's chair and leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Did he hit his head or something?" Carly asked and Sam shrugged. "You hate these things."

"He's different then you remember," Elizabeth said. Sam glared at her, knowing she was still trying to stake some type of claim on him.

"No, they're right," he said, pulling Sam closer. "But I'm with my family, that's what matters."

"You always like parties with me as your date," Sam said, leaning in to kiss him.

"I knew you two were meant to be. I always convinced you to go along with my romance plans," Molly said. "Valentines Day was still my biggest accomplishment. I half-expected you to rip down all the balloons and decorations."

"You guys did it for me, for us," Sam said. "That's why he left it."

"Plus he's probably counting down the minutes until he can get you upstairs," Kristina said.

"Kristina," Sonny and Alexis scolded her at the same time. "Really?"

"We all know they've been going at it like bunnies."

"Even worse," Sonny cringed.

"Am I getting a bunny?" Danny asked excitedly.

"No," Sam said, glaring at her sister. "We need to work on your social skills, sweetheart."

"No Legoland, no bunny, this isn't fun," Danny sighed.

"Still no on the bunny," Jason said as he lifted Danny onto his lap. "How about a maybe for Legoland?"

"I'll take it," he nodded.

Elizabeth watched the interaction and tried not to lose it, remember how he was with her boys. She stood up and excused herself to head over to the bar. She didn't know why she thought coming tonight was a good idea. It was like Ric was punishing her. Nikolas arrived late with Hayden and noticed Elizabeth was at the bar. Hayden brushed past him to their table and sat down next to Lucky, the two quickly getting into a conversation, He shrugged it off, not really caring enough who his wife was talking to.

"You okay?" Nikolas asked, resting his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Wish I wasn't," she said as she knocked back her drink and asked for another. "Ric invited me and in a moment of weakness I said yes. He failed to tell me we were sitting with the mob."

"I'm guessing Sam and Jason are here as well," Nikolas assumed, knowing that's what really upset her. "It's just something you're going to have to get used to:"

"I still love him, Nikolas. I want to be with him, I should be with him."

"He's with Sam," Nikolas said, feeling sorry for his friend. "We both made mistakes that we have to pay for now. The quicker we get used to it, the quicker we can move on."

"Yeah? How are you paying?"

"I lost ELQ," he said simply. "I have a feeling that's not the end of it, and I'll deal."

"Easier said then done," she grumbled.

"Just have fun tonight," Nikokas said and she scoffed. "I'm sitting with my mother over there. I'll be over by your table to say hello to Alexis."

"You think Ric did this on purpose? To get back at me for rejecting him last year?" she asked before he walked away.

"Maybe," Nikolas said. "Or maybe he wants to help you learn how to face your mistakes. Out of all the tables here, you're at the perfect table to learn."

* * *

Robin spotted Dr. Finn standing in the corner of the ballroom, watching everyone interact and the performances that were going on. She excused herself from the table to go speak to him about an update in her research.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked.

"Not particularly. Epiphany is a force to be reckoned with, however," he sighed, taking a sip of his drink. "I convinced her I would donate a large amount of money to get out of fully participating in this circus."

"It's all in good fun," Robin smiled. "The donation is greatly appreciated."

"I'm sure you did not come over here to thank me," he said knowingly. "Have you made any progress?"

"I think I can stabilize whatever happens to the hippocampus, but I'm not fully sure it will work."

"You have gone further than I did," he said. "Samantha and Jason know about the children that were held by Helena."

"I'm sorry, children?" Robin said in surprise.

"You were unaware?"

"I didn't even know about Jake. I only went back to try to save Jason because I couldn't live with myself knowing that Jason would never get to know Danny was his son," Robin said. "Who are these children?"

"I don't know," he told her. "I think Helena was hoping her conditioning would work best on children because they are so impressionable."

"That's disgusting."

"She's had her eye on Spencer for many years, but was unable to take him without raising suspicion."

"Does Nikolas know?" she asked and he nodded. "Maybe that's why he followed her plans."

"I would not know. There are documents Helena has hidden within ELQ that I need to obtain, and my nephew is my best chance."

"Not anymore," Robin said. "ELQ is back with the Quartermaines. Nikolas signed his shares over to Jason."

"That is problematic then," Dr. Finn sighed. "I'm not sure how I will explain the chain of events that is to occur."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It's not," he said as he watched Dante and Nathan receive a phone call. "In my own defense, I could not outright reveal myself to Nikolas until I had him indebted to me."

"What did you do?" Robin asked as she watched Dante approach Nikolas.

"I may have left an anonymous tip that missing drugs from the hospital would be found in Nikolas Cassadine's possession, and may have slipped a pill bottle in his jacket pocket that has a hole in it and will fall out when he stands up," he said as they watched that happen. "Excuse me while I figure out a way to rectify the situation."

"I'll talk to Jason and Sam about the files and see if they know anything, you seem to have your hands filled," Robin said as he walked away. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and stood in shock as Patrick walked over to her.

"So Nikolas was just arrested for possession," Patrick said and Robin nodded. "Dr. Finn?"

"Dr. Finn," she repeated.

"A little time in lock-up might do Nikolas some good," he said.

Patrick glanced over and saw Sam and Jason staring at the scene in confusion, and Elizabeth looked extremely pale. Jason stood up and walked over to them for some answers.

"Dr. Finn set up Nikolas," Robin explained. "I'm not really sure why, something about files that were hidden in ELQ."

"I found those, Sam and I have been going through them," Jason said. "Don't let him know we have them yet."

"He knows the Quartermaines have ELQ back, I said I'd talk to you about it."

"Well, you talked to me about it and I don't know what files he's talking about," he said. "Tell him I'll look into it and I'll talk to Michael. I don't him near ELQ."

"Okay," Robin agreed, understanding why Jason didn't trust him. "What's so important about those files?"

"Not sure yet."

* * *

"You want to go out on the balcony?" Jason whispered in Sam's ear, not paying attention to anything other the feeling of Sam's skin as his hand slipped under her dress. He was very grateful for the slit and wanted to send a thank you note to the designer.

"Where's Danny?"

"He's with Michael and Monica."

"Let's go," she said, standing up and taking his hand.

They walked outside and Sam smiled at the cool breeze that blew through her hair. She looked up and saw all the stars in the sky tonight, her hand reaching to touch the star necklace Jason had given her all those years ago.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Once or twice," she smiled. "I'm really glad we came tonight, despite our seating arrangements."

"Me too," he said.

She turned in his arms and hugged him, his hands skimming down her lower back when he was suddenly hit with a memory. She was in a white dress and when he pulled his hand away all he saw was red. Sam could tell something was wrong when she felt his entire body tense. She went to pull away but his arms tightened around her, his hand pressing against the exact spot she was shot and she felt tears burn her eyes.

"You remember that night?"

"You were shot in my arms," he said quietly. "You almost died."

"But I didn't," she said, taking his face in her hands to force him to look at her. "I am always safe in your arms, Jason."

"I'd have to disagree," he said, remembering another night together on this balcony that ended in heartbreak. "I remember telling you to run to me."

"And I did, I always will," she said, feeling the tears fall from her eyes. "Being with you is the safest I have ever felt in my entire life and I will always choose to run to you, Jason."

"You're amazing," he said, staring at her in amazement. She somehow always stopped him from feeling like the monster he thinks he is every time a violent memory returns. He knows she's never been with him just because he was dangerous and she wanted to live that life. Sam truly loved him for him.

"Do you want to go back inside?" she asked, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable by what he remembered.

"No, I want to make a happier memory on this balcony," he said as he took her hands in his. "I found something the other day that Spinelli told me he thought was lost forever."

"What is it?"

"This," he said, pulling a black box out that held a ring. "This was the ring I planned on proposing with and Maxie lost."

"Oh my God," Sam gasped. "It's beautiful."

"I think it's interesting how I found this after we found our way back to each other," he said as he got down on one knee. "I know we're still married, but I want you to know I'm not just here because of our past. I've fallen in love with you all over again, and for the first time. Will you marry me again?"

"Yes, Jason, yes," she laughed as she cried. He slipped the ring on her finger and stood up to kiss her. "I love you so much, and not just for the person I remember but the person you are now."

"I love you too," he said as he wiped her tears away.

"I can't believe you found this, where was it?" she asked as she admired the ring. The ring was stunning – a 2 carat diamond with a halo setting and the band was twisted and had diamonds along it.

"Found it at the bottom of one of the many gun boxes we have," he said, smiling as he watched Sam stare at her ring. "I was going to buy you a new ring."

"This is perfect, this is better than perfect," she stopped him with a kiss. "We're going to renew our vows. Maybe we can actually do it in front of our family this time."

"Whatever you want to do."

"I just want you, that's what I'll always want," she said and pulled him back down for a kiss.

"I hate to interrupt, but Danny wanted to say good night," Alexis said, breaking apart the happy couple.

"Be good for Grandma, baby," Sam said as she kissed Danny's forehead and brushed the hair out of his eyes with her left hand. Alexis gasped in shock when she saw the ring.

"Is that what I think it is? Is that a ring?"

"Jason 'proposed,'" Sam said, realizing how silly that sounded. "We're going to renew our vows."

"I want to be with Sam forever, memories or not," Jason said as he took Danny from Alexis to kiss him good night.

"Oh my God," Alexis said in excitement, taking Sam's hand and pulling her back into the ballroom.

"They're kind of crazy," Danny said.

"Yeah, they are," Jason chuckled as he followed them inside.

"They're renewing their vows!" Alexis yelled as she waved Sam's hand around for everyone to her ring.

"I never thought I'd see you this excited for me to be with Jason," Sam said.

"I get to see my first baby get 'married' and I've come to terms with you being with Jason. He loves you more than anything and I can't want anymore than that for you."

"Thanks, Mom," she said as she hugged Alexis.

"I see I'm not the first one to know – again," Carly said with a smirk. "Congratulations. I'm actually really happy for you two this time."

"Did you just buy this?" Kristina asked as her and Molly looked at the ring. "It's gorgeous."

"It's the ring that was lost."

"And it came back! Just like you and Jason found each other again," Molly swooned. "That is the most romantic thing to ever happen, I can't take it."

"Easy there," Kristina rolled her eyes. "They're already married."

"What's going on over here?" Maxie asked as her and Spinelli walked over to them.

"Congratulations, dear friend," Spinelli said to Jason. He had a feeling this was coming after he found the ring.

"Where did you find this? I searched for weeks!" Maxie screeched as she grabbed Sam's hand, immediately recognizing the ring she dug through the sewer for, only to lose it again.

"If you touch this ring, I will hurt you," Sam warned her as she pulled her hand back. "Good thing everything is over, my mom caused a giant scene."

"Well deserved scene. I'm so happy for you," Maxie said as she hugged Sam.

"Your father and I are going to leave," Alexis said as she took Danny from Jason. "Enjoy your night."

"Oh, they will," Kristina said with a wink. "An engagement is a reason to celebrate all night long."

"Whose engaged?" Robin asked. Her and Patrick came over to say goodbye; Elizabeth was right behind them.

"We're not engaged," Sam said, rolling her eyes at her sister. She really didn't want to have to explain this to all of Port Charles, but should have expected her family to react this way. "Jason and I are renewing our vows."

"Congratulations, that ring is stunning," Robin said.

"Ring? What," Elizabeth said, moving next to Robin to see for herself. "Oh, uh, that's great."

"I think my ring was bigger," Patrick said, earning a smack from Sam and Robin. "Only kidding. That's great, I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," Sam said, taking Jason's hand.

"Did we miss any fun?" Jason asked Robin, trying to ignore Elizabeth's pleading stares. "Other than the arrest."

"Not really, just gossip. I think Lucky and Hayden went home together," Robin said with a shrug.

"That's a pair I didn't expect," Sam said and Robin nodded in agreement.

"When are you guys planning on renewing your vows?" she asked.

"Soon," Sam said happily. She didn't miss Elizabeth's scowl as she listened to their conversation.

"Elizabeth, we should go," Ric said as he placed his hand on her back. "You don't have to torture yourself."

"This entire night was torture, this was just the icing on the cake!" she exploded. "I didn't do anything to deserve this type of pain."

"She's serious?" Patrick whispered to Sam, who had to hold in her laugh.

"It'll get better," Ric said as they walked away.

"No it won't," she said, leaning into him as they walked. "Not for me, anyway."


	19. XIX.

"Morning," Jason whispered in Sam's ear as he moved her hair away from her neck so he could kiss her.

"What time is it?" she asked, her eyes were still close and her voice groggy from sleep. "Did I sleep in again?"

"Yeah, but you've been working late this week. I just got back from dropping Danny off at school. Carly dropped off your dress, it's hanging in the closet."

"It did feel nice to sleep, just not used to sleeping so late," she said as she stretched.

"I'm here to take care of morning stuff."

"A girl could get used to this," she sighed as she cuddled into his side.

"I'm glad," he said, kissing her forehead. She did so much on her own for so long, if he could let her sleep in in the mornings it was the least he could do. "You can go back to sleep if you want."

"As tempting as that sounds, I should get up," she said. "We have family secrets to uncover before my brothers wedding tonight."

"I have to wear another suit?" he asked and sighed when Sam nodded. "Danny's been reconsidering his stance on wearing a bear suit after wearing the bow tie."

"We got married in t-shirts and jeans," Sam said, a small smile crossing her face as she thought back to that night.

"That sounds like a great wedding," he said.

"Oh, it was, and the wedding night was even better," she smirked, kissing his cheek before getting out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Is that an invitation?"

"Maybe," she smiled as she walked into the bathroom. "One could never be too clean."

"I'd have to agree," he said as he climbed out of bed, pulling his shirt off as he walked.

* * *

"I don't understand what any of this is," Sam groaned in frustration as she closed another and put it on the growing stack of uselessness. "I don't know what we need to be looking for, Jason."

"I know," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "There's something here. Maybe Robin can help."

"I hate to suggest it, but maybe we should show them to Dr. Finn. This is what he wanted."

"Which is why I'm hesitant to let him know we have them. He's a Cassadine, I don't trust him."

"I'm a Cassadine, do you trust me?" she asked and he gave her a look. "I'm messing with you."

"I wouldn't want to cross you. You come from Russian royalty and mob royalty," he smirked as he took her hand in his. "I'm on the right side."

"Damn straight," she said, leaning in to kiss him. "I used to go crazy, I've relaxed over the years."

"Oh yeah," he laughed. "I can tell."

"When you get your memories back, then we can talk, buddy," she said as she opened another file. She was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea when she smelt something coming through the windows. "Can you close the window?"

"You okay?" he asked after closing it. "You look pale, you want to lay down?"

"No, I'm fine," she said. "I think I'm just getting stressed over all this. We don't know where Emily is, we have no idea why Helena took Jake. Maxie's freaking out because Nathan is distant and she's been spending more time with Spinelli. There's just a lot going on and things aren't moving as planned."

"We'll figure it out," he told her. "You've been working so hard on this, take a break. Tonight's the wedding, we'll have a good time."

"The wedding," she said as she flipped through the files, a lightbulb going off in her head when she started thinking abut what she was giving as a gift. There was one file that completely threw her off, it looked like something from the Matrix with how the papers where just filled with numbers that had no rhyme or reason to them, so she thought. "Jason, these are all bank account numbers and these might be coordinates."

"Wherever these bank accounts are linked to could help us figure out where to look next. I'll run these over to Spinelli," he said as he took them from Sam. He paused and lifted her out of the chair for a kiss. "You're brilliant."

"Thank you," she smiled when they pulled away.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Kristina asked as she knocked and opened the door.

"No, come in," Sam said. Jason said hello and goodbye to Kristina as he headed to Spinelli's. "What's up?"

"I'm on my lunch break so I can't stay long, but I have a girl emergency."

"Check my bathroom upstairs, under the sink," Sam said. "I have leftover Chinese food if you're hungry."

"Which is the other reason why I came by," Kristina yelled out from upstairs. Sam put the food in the microwave and cleaned up as she waited for Kristina to come back downstairs, which took longer than expected.

"Did you fall in or something?" she asked as she went upstairs and saw Kristina rifling through the cabinets in the guest bathroom. "What are you doing?"

"You don't even have empty tampon boxes in your bathroom, have you not gotten your period?"

"Of course I have," Sam said then paused. "I think I have anyway. A lot has been going on, I haven't paid attention."

"You haven't paid attention?" Kristina asked skeptically. They walked downstairs and heard the microwave beeping. "I improvised, so I'll eat quick then run to the drugstore."

"Krissy, this smells off, I don't know if you should eat this," Sam said as she took it out of the microwave.

"It smells delicious," Kristina said as she took the plate from Sam and sat down. "Is everything okay?"

"I think I'm just overworked. I've been working on this case for weeks and not much has come from it so it's very frustrating for me," Sam said as she sat at the other end of the table.

"You're the best at what you do, I wouldn't get so worked up over it," Kristina reassured her. "We're going to have so much fun tonight."

"Yeah, I could use a drink or five," Sam laughed but Kristina didn't. "Are  _you_  okay?"

"Just thinking of what I need to do when I get back to ELQ," she said quickly.

"How's working there?"

"It's great, I'm glad I get to spend time with Michael again. Plus, I'm getting paid well so it's really good."

"No adventures to Mexico please," Sam warned them.

"Because that turned out so bad for you and Jason?" Kristina said with a smirk. She scooped the last of the fried rice into her mouth and brought her dishes into the kitchen to clean up. "Thanks for lunch, I'll stop by with stuff before I go back to work. There are some things you don't have that I think you need."

"Well, you'd know since you just ransacked my bathrooms," Sam smirked.

* * *

Jason knocked on Spinelli's door and heard a commotion before a frazzled-looking Spinelli answered.

"Stone Cold, please enter," he said with a sigh.

"Everything good?" Jason asked. "I can come back later."

"No, everything is fine. This is nothing I am not accustomed to," Spinelli sighed.

"Spinelli, we are not done. I needed a bathroom break, but this discussion is not over," Maxie stomped out of the bathroom angrily. "Oh, like the old days. Jason is going to stand there emotionless as you two continue to hide things from me. That's great!"

"What is she talking about?" Jason asked.

"Maximista took it upon herself to break into my apartment and scour through my personal items!" Spinelli yelled, his voice getting higher and higher.

"He neglected to tell me that him and Ellie are broken up! Just like the last time, and Nathan almost broke up with me!"

"Recently?"

"No, the last time," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Keep up."

"Just like her intimate relationship with The Dashing Detective is none of business, my relationship with Ellie is none of hers."

"Okay, this is great, but not what I came over for," Jason said with a sigh. "Is this going to wrap up quickly or should I come back?"

"I'll leave," Maxie said with a huff. "You know, for not remembering, you're exactly the same."

"So I've been told," he said, looking confused at the small blonde woman.

"This isn't over," Maxie warned as she slammed the door.

"My apologies," Spinelli sighed. "Last time I returned to Port Charles I had intentions of winning the Fair Maximista back, but things have changed."

"So you don't want to be with her?"

"I cannot answer that truthfully," Spinelli said, avoiding the question. "But she is happy with her current partner and I am unhappy that he continues to lie to her, but if I reveal anything I betray the trust of my two closest friends and I also wouldn't be surprised if she thinks I'm lying and never speaks to me again."

"Well, hopefully this gets us one step closer to figuring out what the hell is going on so all this can be out in the open and over," Jason said as he took out the files. "Sam thinks they're bank accounts and coordinates that might give us a lead."

"The Goddess has always been brilliant at what she does," Spinelli said happily as he looked over the papers. "I will scan these into my computer and begin my work right away. When are you expecting results?"

"As soon as you find something let me know," Jason said. "Tonight is Lucas and Brad's wedding, and Sam's been working really hard so I want her to relax and enjoy herself tonight."

"The lovely couple deserves a break. Unless it is dire, I will hold of any findings until the morning."

"Thanks Spinelli, for everything," Jason said sincerely as he stood up.

"No thanks necessary, my friend."

Jason returned home and spotted a plastic bag on the doorknob. He took it as he walked into the penthouse and smiled when he saw Sam lying on the couch, waking up when she heard the door open.

"Oh, I'll take that," she said quickly when she spotted the bag in Jason's hand. "Girl stuff, courtesy of Kristina."

"Here you go," he said, handing her the bag.

She took it and headed upstairs to the bathroom to put it away. At the very bottom, Sam found a pregnancy test with a note attached to it: 'I think you're in denial about what's really going on. If I'm right, I expect to be the godmother. – Kristina.' Sam wanted to laugh and shove it underneath the sink, but she didn't. She knew Kristina might be right, but was really scared by the thought. Sam opened the box and sighed, figuring it would be better to get this over with quick, like ripping off a band-aid.

* * *

"Congratulations!" Sam said as she hugged her brother and brother-in-law. "Your vows were beautiful."

"Thank you," Lucas said. "And Danny did an awesome job."

"He did, didn't he," Sam said as she ruffled her son's hair. "Thanks for including him."

"He was the best ring bear ever," Brad said as he fist bumped Danny. "Have fun tonight."

"We will," Jason said as he wrapped his arm around Sam. "Let's go find our seats."

"Sounds good," she smiled as she let go of Danny and watched as he ran toward Monica. "How'd things go with Spinelli earlier?"

"I thought we were taking tonight off to have fun," Jason said.

"Jason Morgan? Fun?" Sam said in mock surprise. "Maybe you are different after all."

"You're still going to remarry me," he said as he kissed her rings. "Right?"

"Yeah, I think I'll keep you," she smiled as she leaned in to kiss him. She felt a tap on her shoulder, making her pull away. Kristina was standing behind her holding two champagne flutes, Morgan was with her. "Hey, how are you?"

"He's great," Kristina said as she handed Sam a glass and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "It's cider. Until you tell me no, I'm on drink duty tonight."

"Drink duty?" Jason asked, overhearing the second part.

"I am on sober patrol tonight since I broke Morgan out for the wedding," Kristina said as she linked arms with an unhappy looking Morgan. "Perk up, buddy. You're either here having sober fun with your loving family, or you're lying in bed in the loony bin."

"Kristina, really?" Sam said. "You can't say that."

"Please, I'm just trying to lighten up the situation," she rolled her eyes.

"It's nice to be out of there, even if it's just for a little," Morgan said, a small grin crossing his face before quickly disappearing. "Krissy told me what was going on with her and we're bonding over being family screw-ups."

"You two are far from screw-ups, trust me I'm the queen of being a screw-up," she told them. "I'm proud of you both."

"You seem to be doing better, I'm glad," Jason said to Morgan.

"That means a lot from the both of you," he smiled, happy to see the two people he looked up to as a kid back together again. "Hopefully I can break out again for when you two renew your vows. Congratulations, by the way."

"I think you'll be out and home by then," Jason said.

"We have precious time, Morgan-ella has to be back by midnight," Kristina said, tapping at her wrist. "I'm watching you, sister dearest."

"Got it," Sam rolled her eyes.

"What was that about?" Jason asked as they sat down.

"Just Kristina being Kristina," she told him. "There's more people here than I thought there would be."

"Sam!" Maxie yelled as she ran over to them. "Hello Jason."

"Maxie," he nodded. Sam looked at him in confusion. "I ended up in the middle of her and Spinelli's argument this morning."

"Oh, that's never fun," she said as she patted Jason's thigh. "What's up, Maxie?"

"You knew about Ellie," she accused her.

"I did," Sam said calmly. "I found out and didn't want to freak you out anymore than necessary. You've been on edge over this whole Claudette situation and knowing about Ellie would have been the final straw. I wanted to avoid this."

"Why do you always have to be so logical and level headed?" Maxie huffed.

"I learned from the best," Sam said, smiling happily at Jason. "Listen, enjoy yourself tonight and deal with everything tomorrow."

"Are you going to take your own advice?" Maxie asked and Sam nodded. "Good, then let's go take shots."

"No, I really shouldn't."

"Why, you guys have a room here. You're not driving home."

"I'm a light-weight and Danny's here," she explained. "I don't want him to remember his mom getting trashed at his uncle's wedding. That'll scar a kid."

"Fine, valid point. You owe me then," Maxie said before walking away. She stomped her foot before quickly walking back to them. "Does my dress look like Britt's?"

"Um," Sam said as she looked over at Britt. "No, they look different."

"Okay," she nodded before walking away.

"They look the same to me," Jason whispered and Sam laughed. "I'd have to say your dress is the best."

"Oh why thank you," she said with a smirk. "And why is that?"

"Because you're wearing it," he said and her heart melted. "And when you move slightly I get a great view."

"Good to know," she laughed, but quieted when she saw Maxie and Nathan together. "I hate that she doesn't know he's been lying to her."

"I think she knows, she just hasn't figured out about what. Truthfully, neither have we so we're not keeping anything from her really," Jason said, trying to reassure Sam.

"We know who Claudette really is."

"But I don't think that was his secret because he didn't know about Emily until recently."

"I just don't want to see Maxie get hurt because we kept this," she sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I keep talking about work. I'm done now," she said as she leaned in to his him. His hand skimmed up her leg to the inside of her thigh as she laced her fingers through his hair. They broke apart when someone cleared their throat.

"Watch your hands, that's my daughter," Julian said and Sam rolled her eyes. "What? I'm making up for lost time."

"Please don't."

"The room is decorated beautifully," Alexis said. "Are you guys getting ideas?"

"Uh, I don't know," Sam said as she looked at Jason who shrugged. "We haven't really talked about it yet. I'd like to have the same type of ceremony."

"Yeah, I think that was fitting for us," Jason agreed.

"Oh," Alexis said. "Well that's nice."

"Why does Mom look like she's going to pass out?"'Molly asked.

"Because I reminded her I got married in a Chinese restaurant," Sam said with a smile.

"I need Sam and Jason," Carly said as she walked over to the table. "Danny got into the chocolate fountain and he's dripping in chocolate."

"Carly I'm so sorry," Sam said as she stood up. "I should have been watching him more carefully, I thought he was with Monica."

"No it's fine," she reassured her. "He was with Monica and Michael, and he escaped quick and went head first into chocolate."

"Hi Mommy, hi Daddy," Danny said with a giant grin as he licked his hands. Michael and Lucas were trying not to laugh as they wiped the chocolate off their nephew.

"You're in big trouble, mister," Sam said as she squatted down to be eye level with her son. "You can't do things like that. You could have gotten hurt, you made a big mess, you could have broken the hotels stuff."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I put him down and he was on a mission, I'm sorry," Michael said to Jason.

"It's not your fault," Jason said. "No one is hurt, Danny's just a little sticky. The wedding wasn't ruined, right?"

"Not at all," Lucas said as he wrapped Danny in clean towels. Sam helped Danny stand up and held onto his shoulders to make sure he didn't run off again.

"I don't know where he came up with this idea," Sam sighed.

"I watched Willy Wonka and the fat kid went swimming in the chocolate river!"

"Great," Sam said as all the men laughed. "You're going to drive mommy crazy, Danny."

"What did you expect from a kid that's half McCall and half Morgan," Michael said with a smirk. "You put up with us Corinthos kids, that was training."

"Not funny," Sam said with a smirk, knowing he was right. She knew any kid of hers and Jason's was going to keep them on their toes. "Let's go get him changed before he becomes a human candy bar."

"That can happen?" Danny asked in amazement.

"No," Jason laughed as he turned Danny toward the exit. "We'll get you out of the suit, and maybe Daddy can get out of this suit."

"Danny's a definite," Sam said as she pressed the elevator button. "You're a maybe."

* * *

Lucky thanked the butler and looked around in Nikolas's living room as he waited for his brother to come downstairs. He heard arguing and a door slam before an agitated Nikolas made an appearance.

"Is this important? Now is really not a good time," Nikolas said.

"Marital problems?"

"Watch with the jokes, I know she went home with you after the Nurses Ball."

"Nothing happened. She needed a ride and wasn't comfortable staying here alone, you were locked up for the evening."

"I was framed."

"Whatever it was, I think you should hold back on your accusations about me and Hayden. Especially since you did sleep with Elizabeth when we were working things out. Glass houses, brother."

"You're right," he sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he said. "I was hoping you'd help me out."

"Elizabeth finally got you on board?" he said knowingly and Lucky nodded. "I don't know how much I can help."

"Did Helena ever drop hints about having Jake or any other children?"

"She had men watching Spencer for a while, would make subtle threats about how he'd be better off with her," Nikolas said. "She once told him she had friends for him to meet, but I never really took that to mean she had children."

"But it's possible."

"Anything concerning Helena is possible," Nikolas said. "She made me rearrange the ELQ system, convincing me it was a way to safeguard the company from the Quartermaines hacking into it."

"But now you think otherwise," Lucky said and Nikolas nodded. "Any idea what would be there?"

"No, I worked with the same accounts. I didn't snoop through because I knew Spencer was still being watched," Nikolas explained. "That's how I got into this mess."

"Makes sense," Lucky said but Nikolas didn't agree.

"I should have asked for help and instead I alienated the people I care about. I hurt Sam so much that she'll never forgive me, not that I deserve her forgiveness anyway. Of all people I told about Jason, I told Elizabeth. That alone was enough to ruin my relationship with my cousin, but add on everything else I did? It's done."

"Sam's a pretty forgiving person. She's been through a lot and done a lot of bad things herself, I'm sure she'll eventually understand."

"Regardless, I don't deserve it. I let her watch her husband plan to marry the woman who has always gotten in between them."

"Don't let this eat you up, things will get better eventually," Lucky said. "In the meantime, my son needs help."

"I'll do what I can, for you," Nikolas said. "We might have to leave the country."

"You think Helena has stuff in the vacation homes?" he asked.

"Worth a shot," Nikolas shrugged. "Greece is lovely this time of year."

"I'm sure," Lucky laughed. "Let's go. Call the jet."

* * *

Sam and Jason got Danny cleaned up and dressed in the spare clothes she packed. They walked back into the reception just in time for dinner. Jason pulled out Sam's chair as she sat down, placing Danny in the seat between them.

"If you go anywhere near the dessert table without me or your dad, you get no TV for another week," Sam warned him.

"Okay," he said sadly. "I'm still sorry."

"We know, buddy. It was an accident, but your mom and I want to make sure that the next time you see a chocolate fountain you won't try to swim in it again," Jason explained.

"Can't blame a kid for trying," Morgan said quietly to Kristina, who started to giggle. "Krissy, thanks for bringing me. I needed this."

"I'm glad you're here. You need to remember you have all this to get better for," she said as she patted his shoulder. "You've got an hour until we have to leave so I can get you back before curfew."

"Got it, timekeeper," he saluted as he stood up. The dance floor had reopened and everyone was getting up to dance. "Want to party?"

"Hell yeah," she said as she stood up, pulling Molly with her. She stopped by Sam. "Can Danny come?"

"Watch him," Sam warned as Danny quickly jumped out of his chair and into Morgan's arms. Sam smiled at how shocked and happy Morgan looked.

"We got it, don't worry," Molly said.

"And now we're alone," Jason said as he wrapped his arm around Sam and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," she said, turning in her seat to face him. "You know how I've been tired lately?"

"Yeah, it's expected with how much you've been working."

"It's also expected with how we haven't been able to keep our hands off each other," Sam said quietly, waiting for the look of realization to fill his face. "Kristina dropped off a pregnancy test, and it was positive."

"You're pregnant?" he whispered and she nodded, not sure what his reaction would be. She wasn't sure how to feel about it herself. She was overjoyed to be pregnant again, knowing for sure that this was Jason's and that tragedy wasn't looming over their heads like a dark cloud; but it was so soon. They just found their way back to each other, he still didn't have his memories back, she didn't want this to overwhelm him.

"However you feel about this, I just want to keep it between us for now," she said, still not getting a response from him. "Jason?"

"I remembered your pregnancies," he said, taking her hand in his. He got taken aback when she told him, and suddenly a rush of memories came to him. How they bonded when she stayed with him at the penthouse the first time, how heartbroken he was when he had to tell Sam her baby was dead, how conflicted he was over Danny and if he could be a good father to him, knowing he might be Franco's. He wanted to do better for her, he promised he would be better for her. "I remember our baby girl, and I remember how awful I was to you when you were pregnant with Danny."

"You were never awful to me. A lot was going on," she reassured him.

"I'm so happy, Sam," he said, pulling her in for a kiss. "We're going to have a baby."

"I think so," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I scheduled a doctor's appointment to make sure."

"Why is Mommy crying?" Danny asked as he climbed onto Sam's lap. "I didn't break the rule, I promise."

"I know, baby," Sam laughed, kissing Danny's head. "Mommy's just happy that Daddy's back and we're going to have a big party like this soon."

"I like big parties like this," he said. "I'm going to go back to dancing."

"But it's a slow song, silly," Sam said.

"If I dance with Aunt Krissy, she gives me cookies," he whispered to Sam like it was a secret, and then realized he wasn't supposed to tell her. "Oops."

"Have fun, baby," she rolled her eyes and let him run to Kristina.

"Would you like to dance?" Jason asked as he stood up and held his hand out. Sam took it, but was very confused.

"Getting you to dance is like pulling teeth," she said as he lead them to the dance floor. They stayed along the edges, he wrapped his arms around her waist and she rested her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm just really happy I finally found my family," he said as his thumb skimmed her now flat stomach, but knew it would grow soon enough.

"I always knew you'd find your way back to me, you always do," she said as she caressed his cheek. "I love you, so much."

"I love you too."

"What are they so happy about?" Morgan asked as him and his siblings watched Sam and Jason dance like they were in their own bubble, ignoring the outside world.

"I've never seen Jason dance before," Michael said as he sipped his beer. "This is like seeing a gorilla rollerblade."

"No, I think that would be more like seeing Max and Diane dance," Morgan said. Michael choked on his drink, but had to agree.

"I think my romance lectures finally sunk in," Molly swooned.

"Leave them alone," Kristina smiled, knowing exactly what they were happy about. "I bet they're just happy they have one night to enjoy themselves with family and friends who haven't tried to keep them apart."

"That or she's pregnant," Morgan shrugged and Kristina's face almost gave it away, but she didn't want to ruin this for Sam. "Eh, probably not. I'm sure Krissy or Maxie would have caught wind of that by now and blew up their spot."

"Or Mom," Michael said. "Her and Sam are weirdly good friends now. I'm all for it, but still odd."

"While speculating has been fun, Morgan has to go home now," Kristina said as she took his arm. "Come on, brother dearest. Time to get you back home before my car turns into a pumpkin."

"The Cinderella references were never funny, Krissy."

"Just smile and say thank you," she rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, stopping to give her a hug.

"Good. We're all glad to have you back."


	20. XX.

Sam stepped off the elevator at the hospital and headed over to the check-in desk. She was hoping to not run into anyone she knew for this appointment, she wanted to keep it a secret until she knew everything was good.

"Hey Sam, your appointment is with me today," Britt said and Sam was shocked to see her. "Follow me."

"I thought I had an appointment with Dr. Lee today," Sam said as they entered the room. "Since when are you back here?"

"I was re-hired, I decided to come back. I can reschedule your appointment if you're uncomfortable," Britt said. She was trying to do things right this time now that she's back.

"Uh, no it's fine, I guess," Sam said, unsure of how she felt about being treated by Britt since her father did shoot Jason and leave him to die, but she realizes Britt can't control who her parents are. "I need you to do me a favor, though."

"Absolutely."

"You can't tell anyone I'm here because I think I'm pregnant," she said. "I'm even talking about gossip among the staff or people asking why I was here. Brad can't even know, because then he'll tell Lucas."

"My lips are sealed, you have my word," Britt said as she sat down and began to arrange what she needed. "It's been a week since you took the pregnancy test?"

"Yeah, and I don't remember the last time I had my period. I've been preoccupied."

"I heard Elizabeth tried to steal your husband, and she had the balls to call me out on my shit," Britt said then winced. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate."

"Nope, you're fine," Sam laughed. "She has the balls to call people out on all their shit, but god forbid we call her out on hers."

"She was pissed when she saw me this morning," Britt said as she drew a blood sample from Sam. "I will send this to the lab. Have you had any morning sickness?"

"A little, more lately," Sam said. "I get really nauseous over certain smells."

"We can do an ultrasound while you're here to see if there's anything," Britt offered and Sam agreed.

She left to drop off the blood at the lab, giving Sam privacy to change. Britt hoped since the lab was quiet she'd get results quick just in case the ultrasound didn't show anything. She noticed Jason at the nurse's station, looking like he was waiting for someone.

"Hi, I'm Britt, we never actually met," she introduced herself. "Are you looking for Sam?"

"Yeah, I know she had an appointment today."

"Follow me," Britt said, leading him to Sam's room. She asked him to wait outside for a moment. "Sam, I found Jason. Do you want him in here?"

"Yeah, that would be great," she said and smiled when Jason walked in. "You're early."

"I missed you," he said, kissing her forehead. "I thought you were just here for a blood test to make sure you were pregnant."

"Britt suggested an ultrasound," she said as Britt began to procedure.

"Like I expected, you're probably about 5 weeks pregnant," Britt said as she noticed the tiny embryo. "It's pretty impossible to detect a heartbeat at this stage, but that's your baby."

"Really?" Sam gasped, tears filling her eyes. "Does it look okay?"

"It doesn't look like it's going to be an ectopic pregnancy," Britt said. "There's not much to tell at this stage, but it looks like your baby is there. The blood test will most likely confirm the pregnancy test you took last week. Congratulations, you two."

"We're having another baby," Jason said in awe as he looked down at Sam. "You're amazing."

"These are for you," Britt said as she handed Sam the sonogram pictures. "I will call later with the blood test results, and you weren't here for this."

"I appreciate it, thank you," Sam said. "What are the chances of the ultrasound being wrong?"

"There's always a chance for a misdiagnosis, it could be an abnormality instead of an embryo," Britt said. "But at home pregnancy tests are more reliable these days, and I'm sure the blood test will confirm that and the ultrasound."

"Are you going to be Sam's doctor?" Jason asked, remembering that Sam was supposed to meet with someone else.

"I just filled in for Dr. Lee today, I'm sure she'll be back when you come in for your later appointments," Britt said, not wanting Sam to feel pressured.

"You're back here for good? At least for the next nine months?" Sam asked.

"That's the plan."

"If you don't think it would cause problems between you and Dr. Lee, I'd like you to be my doctor," Sam said and smiled when she saw how happy Britt was. "I've had problems in the past with being pregnant."

"I read through your file when I saw I had an OB/GYN appointment, I like to have an idea of what my patients have dealt with in past pregnancies. We'll keep a close watch, but your pregnancy with your son went smoothly, so it shouldn't be a problem. I can schedule another appointment for you a month from today?"

"That'll be perfect, thanks," Sam said, waiting for Britt to leave. "She hates Elizabeth too."

"Oh good so you two bonded," Jason joked. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Sam smiled as she stood up to get dressed, feeling Jason's gaze directed at her butt. "Like what you see?"

"I love what I see," he smiled as she shimmied into her jeans. "Lunch?"

"I'm starving," she said as she grabbed the sonogram pictures. "Our first baby picture."

"You still want to wait to tell people?" he asked and she nodded. "Good, I like just having this to ourselves for a while."

"Me too," she smiled as they walked out of the room together. "Although, Kristina definitely knows and she's been quiet for a long time so she might explode."

"We'll take each day of silence as a gift then," Jason said as he leaned down to kiss her. "Kelly's or MetroCourt?"

"Whichever you want," she said as she slipped her hand in his as they waited for the elevator.

"Wanted to let you know my nephew and his brother went to Greece to see if they could find anything," Dr. Finn said when he approached them. "Has there been progress on your end?"

"There has," Sam nodded. "Until we have something solid I don't like it disclose leads."

"Fair enough," Dr. Finn nodded. "I was unaware of your recent acquisition of ELQ. I had some explaining to do down at the PCPD. Have you come across anything unusual during your time there?"

"I don't work at ELQ," Jason said.

"Oh, I shall talk to someone else about this then."

"No, you're talking to the right people," Jason said gruffly. He didn't want to risk the Quartermaines losing ELQ again to a Cassadine. "If you start to poke your head around ELQ it could look suspicious and backfire in your face."

"Helena has records of every project funded and where that project took place. If you find that, I can narrow down the list," he said. "Good morning, Nurse Webber."

"Good morning," she replied as she stepped off the elevator. "Great morning when you find out everyone disappeared on you again."

"Oh, well I must be off," Dr. Finn said, quickly walking away from them.

"We should get going too," Jason said, gently shoving Sam into the elevator.

"Did they leave to find out what happened to my son?" Elizabeth asked, holding the elevator open.

"Who's they?" Sam asked, pretending not to know.

"Lucky and Nikolas. Please, don't act like they didn't call you two right away."

"I don't speak to my cousin for what he did to my family, and Lucky is an adult, he doesn't need to check-in with people he has no obligations to," Sam said as she moved Elizabeth's hand. "We're leaving now, bye."

* * *

Going to Greece had turned into a bigger headache than planned. Lucky and Nikolas found out that Helena not only barred Nikolas from the family accounts, but access to the family home. They've been in a hotel room for a week trying to figure out the best way to break in.

"Maybe we should call Sam. She can talk to Spinelli and he can help us out. We don't have blueprints, we're basing all this off of your memories as a kid," Lucky said.

"No, we can do this. We don't need to rely on them. We got this," Nikolas said, not feeling as confident as he tried to sound. "We just have to climb the terrace to get to the second floor."

"And the guards I'm sure they have waiting now that they know you're in town?"

"How was I supposed to know I wasn't allowed back there," Nikolas said. "This was a waste."

"Let's call Robin then, maybe she's been held here and would know where to go," Lucky said. "I'm calling someone, so either Sam or Robin. Pick your choice."

"Robin," Nikolas sighed as he sat down, feeling defeated.

"Good choice," Lucky said as he dialed her number. "Hey Robin, I need to ask you some questions, if you have time."

" _My lunch break is almost over, can it be quick? Is it important?_ "

"I'm in Greece with Nikolas and we didn't really come here with a plan other than telling them we were going to vacation for a bit. We didn't expect Nikolas to be banned, so now we're stuck without a strategy to get in. Were you ever kept here?"

" _For a month or two they had me doing research there since Helena was living there at the time. I think there are tunnels underneath that are similar to the ones on Spoon Island, but I couldn't tell you the entrance. I was always blindfolded._ "

"Okay, we can work with that."

" _I think I may be able to help_ ," she said after a minute. " _I'm going to call Sam and she'll let you know if she was able to do it._ "

"Do what?"

" _I can't say_ ," she said, not wanting to betray Valentin's trust. " _Just wait for her call._ "

"I will, thanks Robin," he said before hanging up. "So there are tunnels underneath the house, but no idea where the entrance is."

"So we're still screwed."

"Not exactly," Lucky said and hoped Nikolas took the news well. "Robin said she'll call Sam and we should wait for Sam to call us before doing anything."

"What!"

"It's for the best, really," Lucky reasoned with him.

"I don't agree."

"So you want to get shot by your family's security?" Lucky asked and Nikolas stopped pacing. "That's what I thought. Now, sit down and let's see what happens. We're not going to be able to do anything until it gets dark anyway."

* * *

"Who was that?" Jason asked when Sam returned from her phone call. "Was it the hospital with the blood results?"

"Uh, no," Sam said, still confused by the conversation she just had. "It was Robin. Lucky called her. Him and Nikolas went to Greece without a plan to break in."

"You're surprised? Nikolas isn't the brightest. If he can't pay his way in, he's screwed," Jason said and smiled at Sam's amusement. "He bit off more than he can chew, we can leave him there."

"We could, but that leaves Lucky too and that I would feel bad about," Sam said as she picked at her fries. "Robin thinks we should call Dr. Finn, he's been looking for a reason to get Nikolas on his side."

"What is Dr. Finn going to do?"

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. If that doesn't work, I'll have Spinelli pull up the blueprints of the property and see where they can get in."

"If we go back to the hospital, Elizabeth might get suspicious."

"Which is why I'm going to call," Sam said as she pulled out her phone. "Hello? This is Mrs. Morgan. I wanted to talk to Dr. Finn quickly if he's available. I'll hold, thanks."

" _Dr. Finn_."

"It's Sam, I'm calling because Robin told me you'd be able to help," she said, getting straight to the point. "Nikolas wasn't allowed in the vacation home and him and Lucky are now sitting ducks because they can't figure out how to get in."

" _And how am I supposed to help_?"

"Robin said you were looking for an in with Nikolas, and this might be your chance. Any ideas?"

" _I might be able to call of the guards. I will call back when it is done_."

"Great, thanks," she said and hung up. "He'll take care of it."

"What do you think they'll find in Greece?"

"Who knows," she shrugged.

* * *

"Okay, that was Sam," Lucky said when he got off the phone. "She said we're cleared to go back. Just act like you're going to stay there for a visit, but she advises us to make it quick."

"I don't see how this is going to end well, but okay," Nikolas said, knowing that Sam wouldn't send Lucky into an ambush intentionally. If it was a bad idea she would have given them a backup plan. "Let's go."

Much to Nikolas's surprise, they were let in without any problems. The groundskeepers and butlers welcomed them like they forgot about kicking them off the grounds earlier in the week.

"My apologies, Prince Cassadine," the butler said. "We were not updated on the new orders given. Your late grandmother informed us that you were no longer welcome."

"Grandmother was upset with me, it's unfortunate that she passed before we were able to make amends," Nikolas said, trying to sound sincere. "May I ask who gave these new orders?"

"I cannot say, he requested anonymity when he called," the butler said. "I do hope you enjoy your stay."

"My brother and I will enjoy our stay even more if we are left alone," Nikolas said. "I spent many a summer here, I don't think I will have a problem finding my way around."

"As you wish," the butler said, sensing that Nikolas was upset. "We will all retire to our quarters for the evening. I hope you have a relaxing stay." ;;;;;;;

"Where to, Prince Cassadine," Lucky asked with a smirk once they were alone. "I hope whatever goes down doesn't ruin our chances of coming back here because it's quiet lovely."

"Shut up," Nikolas said as he began to walk toward the west wing of the house, where he wasn't allowed as a kid. "If anything is hidden here, it's in this part of the house."

"We should start in anywhere she might as used as an office."

"No, if Helena had a secret she was keeping it in her bedroom," Nikolas said as they walked upstairs. "She was making sure it stayed close at all times."

"This plan makes me uncomfortable," Lucky said as they headed toward the master bedroom. They heard something fall from within one of the rooms and someone cursed. "Should we check that out?"

"Yeah, no one should be here," Nikolas said as he tried to open the door. "It's locked."

"Excuse me, is everything okay," Lucky asked as he knocked, using the best accent he could muster up.

"Everything is fine, I knocked over a vase," the female voice was getting louder as she approached the door. She opened the door and the two men were stunned. "Are you two new here?"

"Uh," Nikolas stammered. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Yes, we're new," Lucky said, quickly recovering. "Nico, go clean up the mess."

"Yeah," Nikolas nodded, moving into the room as Lucky pushed him. Lucky leaned against the door and locked the door. "Your name is?"

"I'm Claudette, if you're working here you should know that," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Right," Nikolas nodded.

Lucky went into the bathroom and began to search through the cabinets. He found a bottle of chloroform in the bottom cabinet. He grabbed that and a washcloth, hoping he didn't have to use it. He started looking through the medicine cabinet and noticed all the prescription pills lined up. He thought about pocketing them to bring them back so maybe it would help figure out what was going on, but knew due to his past that wouldn't look good so he took out his phone and started taking pictures of the labels. He was obviously in there for too long because he heard something crash against the wall like it had been thrown and yelling started.

"Who are you! You're not the help! I'm calling security," Claudette freaked out at whatever Nikolas said to her. Lucky cringed and exited the bathroom.

"Emily, please, listen to me!" Nikolas pleaded.

"I am not Emily! Who are you! Get out!" she yelled, pushing Nikolas back against the wall.

"I'm so sorry," Lucky said as he placed the washcloth over her mouth and held her until she passed out. "Pick her up, let's go."

"Are you kidding me!"

"No, now hurry," Lucky said as he checked the hallways to make sure there were no guards. "Nikolas, we'll figure this out back home. Let's go."

"Fine, fine," he grumbled as he picked up his not dead fiancée. "This is impossible."

"I hope someone has some answers for us back home," Lucky said as they ran out of the house to the car.

"What if she wakes up again?"

"I took the bottle."

"This is insane."

"Welcome to a Spencer adventure, brother," Lucky smiled as he floored it out of the driveway and drove to the airport. "At least we had a clean getaway. My dad usually left in a shoot out."

"That's not making this any better."

"I'll take this as a win," he shrugged.

* * *

"What is that?" Sam asked as she woke up startled by the banging that was coming from downstairs. "Jason?"

"I'll go check it out," he said as he jumped out of bed.

"I'm coming," she said, grabbing the gun she kept in her nightstand. She didn't miss the look Jason gave her. "What?"

"Nothing," he smirked, trying to control his reaction to seeing his wife in his t-shirt holding a gun. The banging on the door brought him out of his fantasy. They walked downstairs and Sam pointed the gun at the door when Jason opened it.

"What the fuck you two!" Sam whispered-yelled to try to keep Danny asleep. She had checked in on him and shut his door before coming downstairs. Lucky looked shot and Nikolas was holding an unconscious woman. "Why are you here?"

"I was hoping you could explain this," Lucky said as he gestured to the woman who Nikolas was setting down on the couch. "I might be overtired and the adrenaline rush is wearing off, but that looks like Emily Quartermaine."

"Oh my god, you found her," Sam gasped. "She was in Greece this whole time?"

"You knew she was alive?" Nikolas asked in rage. "Sam!"

"I only found out recently, and she's in worse condition then Jason. We didn't even think we'd find her alive, why the hell would I get anyone's hopes up that she was?" Sam shot back at him. "Do not try to compare this to keeping Jason from me. You will lose."

"Don't raise your voice to my wife again," Jason warned Nikolas.

"She thinks she's Claudette," Lucky said, trying to keep things under control. "Who is that?"

"Nathan West's ex-wife," Jason said.

"That explains why he looked so spooked when he saw the picture on my desk of Emily," Lucky said.

"Hasn't Spinelli been checking security footage for Emily?" Jason asked Sam, not understanding how he could have missed this.

"He has. Maybe she just returned?" Sam said.

"Security footage gets encrypted and if a hacker tries to get in, he gets a backup feed of the gardeners going in and out," Nikolas explained.

"Spinelli did text me the other day that something was off about the footage and he was working on it," Sam said to Jason. "What do you plan on doing when she wakes up?"

"Didn't get that far," Lucky said and winced at the look Sam gave him. "This was unplanned! I thought I'd be coming back with like a flashdrive or something, not Emily!"

"She can't stay here, I won't put my son in danger," Jason said and Sam agreed, her hand quickly going to her stomach but she realized they weren't alone so she pulled at the t-shirt she was wearing.

"She'll stay with me," Nikolas said.

"How are you going to explain this to Hayden?" Lucky asked.

"How would you explain this to Elizabeth?"

"Fair enough," Lucky nodded. "Let's go before she wakes up."

"Did you drug her?" Sam asked.

"I might have found chloroform in the medicine cabinet," Lucky said with a guilty look on his face. "She was freaking out, there was no way to get her to calm down enough to get her back here. How else would you have done it?"

"Just get someone to check on her if you can. She has no memories at all of being Emily from what I know, so don't expect much from her. She's practically a stranger."

"Yes, ma'am," Lucky said as he opened the door for Nikolas. "Sorry for waking you two up."

"Let us know what happens when she wakes up," Jason told them. He shut the door and sighed as he leaned against it. Sam pressed up against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You tired?"

"Wide-awake actually," she said as she looked up at him. "What do you want to do?"

"I've got some ideas," he smirked as his hands ran under the t-shirt she was wearing.

"I think I like those ideas," she smiled as she pulled away and grabbed her gun off the coffee table before running up the stairs, laughing when she heard Jason right behind her.


	21. XXI.

Nikolas still wasn't able to process the events of the day before, and was standing outside the guest room, frozen in shock that the woman who was in there was Emily. His Emily, he thought, but realized she wasn't. She had no memories of him or of anyone, and it was like the universe was playing a cruel joke on him. It was karma for what he did to Sam by keeping Jason's identity a secret. At least Jason was beginning to remember things. Apparently Emily has been living as 'Claudette' for years and she showed no signs of regaining memories of her past life.

Lucky had stayed since they only got to Wyndemere in the early hours of the morning, and Nikolas was hoping he could convince him to hang around until they figured out what to do. He didn't want to be left alone with just Claudette and Hayden. Hayden was his other problem. They were still married, and he knew she knew he hired a hitman to kill her. He didn't know how he'd ever make up for that. He made a lot of mistakes in a short period of time that he was positive ruined all his relationships forever.

"Everything okay?" Lucky asked as he walked out of his room.

"What are we doing? We're basically holding her captive all over again," Nikolas said.

"I know, but we don't know what she knows or who is looking for her. It's safest for her here."

"Shouldn't we tell Monica that her daughter is alive?" Nikolas asked, residual guilt over the Jason situation clouding his judgment.

"A daughter who doesn't remember her mother and may never will?" Lucky reasoned. "Listen, I know why you're saying this and for now it's best to keep this quiet. I talked to Sam and Jason about it and they agree. I'm sure they are the first ones who want to tell Monica that Emily is alive."

"Okay," he sighed. "So what do we do now?"

"Try to talk to her," Lucky shrugged. "Sam said she'll stop by later with a doctor to check her out."

"Shame we can't even take all the credit for the rescue," Nikolas tried to joke.

"We all messed up big when we found out Jason was alive. I think our best option is to defer to them."

"No, you're right," Nikolas said. Both men stopped talking when Hayden stepped out of her room. "Good morning."

"You two came in late last night," she noted and they nodded. "Nikolas, can we talk?"

"Sure, come in my office," Nikolas said, expecting this to happen.

"Good luck," Lucky chuckled before heading to the kitchen for breakfast.

Nikolas took a deep breath to relax his nerves before walking into his office where Hayden was waiting, sitting on his desk. While he wasn't sure what she was going to ask or say to him, he knew a conversation between them was a long time coming.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Who's the woman you brought home? I know we're not on the best of terms, but we're still married," she asked. Nikolas could tell she was starting with this because it was easier to hurt him than to have an honest conversation, which he decided he was going to have. He was tired of it all and just wanted for once to tell the truth to her.

"It's complicated," he said as he sat down. "She's an old friend who was taken by my grandmother and she has no idea who she is."

"Like Jason," she said and he nodded. "So what family are you keeping this one from?"

"The Quartermaines, again," he said, noting her smirk. "She died many years ago and Sam and Jason thought it was best to keep her being alive a secret for now. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"Okay," she agreed.

"That's it? No bribery?" he asked, surprised she didn't take advantage of him.

"I'm tired of trying to keep up this vindictive persona I created when I got here," she said. "Don't get me wrong, I am a huge bitch and I don't find anything wrong with that, but I'm not my father. I don't use people for what they're worth."

"I know you know I tried to have to killed because I wanted to keep Jason's identity a secret," Nikolas said and she nodded. "No apology I can give you will ever make up for that, and I'm sure you want me behind bars for what I did, but I'm all Spencer has, and he's all I have."

"I know. The man I've seen these past few months is the man I think you truly are, not the one I met and who had a hit put on me," she said. "I also looked into my shooting and found that one of my father's victims had found me as well and wanted revenge. Hired the same hitman."

"What?"

"I was going to get shot by that man regardless if you called it or not," she said quietly. "I went to Pentonville to speak to him, and he said he would have been stupid to turn down the job because he was getting paid double for one person."

"I'm sorry," Nikolas said, reaching out for her hand. "That doesn't make what I did better."

"Not really, but I am able to rethink our situation based on it. He told me he kept the other man's information off the books, so to speak, because he had a Cassadine on the hook if things went wrong and you were the better option," she said.

"Explains why Sam only found me," he sighed.

"We've both been pretty awful to each other, you more than me of course, but it hasn't been pretty," she said. "I'm willing to divorce you with no issue, including not enforcing the pre-nup, You can keep your five million if I can continue to stay here. I have no where to go, and I feel safest here."

"Is this what you what?"

"We conned each other into this marriage," she said with a rueful smile. "I'd like to get to know you, the person you are now; and now that it's out in the open who I am, maybe we can be friends."

"I'd like that," he said. "Stay as long as you need. This house is too big and very empty."

"Thank you," she said as she hopped off the desk. "Just, uh, maybe think twice about running to Elizabeth Webber's arms once the divorce is finalized."

"What makes you think I would do that?"

"Please," Hayden rolled her eyes. "I see the way she looks at you, and Lucky, and Jason. Jason is happy with his wife, and Lucky is here for his sons. That leaves you, Prince Nikolas."

"I believe she's with Ric again," he said and Hayden laughed. "You really don't like her."

"Maybe it's because I'm new in town and have no long-running ties to her, but she's a snake," Hayden shrugged as they walked out of the office and headed toward the kitchen to get food. "She's manipulative and the men who are sleeping with her are too blind to see it. Lucky told me she left Jake in the hospital to sleep with you and then accepted his proposal. Who does that?"

"She's a good woman, just makes bad choices."

"Same can be said about every woman, but Elizabeth is the only one I know who hasn't fully paid for her bad choices," Hayden said, pausing when she heard the doorbell. "I'll answer it."

"I'll go see if Lucky made anything edible," he said, leaning down to kiss her but stopped. Feeling awkward, he cleared his throat before walking away. Hayden smiled to herself as she went to answer the door.

"Good morning," she greeted Sam, Jason, and the third person who was with them. "Come in, we were just about to eat."

"Are Nikolas and Lucky here?"

"In the kitchen, follow me," she said as she lead the group. "I'm Hayden Barnes, by the way."

"Hamilton Finn," Dr. Finn introduced himself. He decided today was the day he was going to reveal his true identity to Nikolas, he just hoped things went as planned.

"You guys got here early," Lucky said when they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, well we really couldn't go back to sleep after being woken up in the middle of the night," Sam said, glaring at them. "This is Dr. Finn. We can trust him."

"I think she's still sleeping, so if you haven't eaten yet, Lucky made breakfast," Nikolas said as he shoved a piece of toast in his mouth.

"She knows what's going on?" Jason asked Lucky, who shrugged because he truly had no idea.

"Nikolas told me before," Hayden said. "Don't worry, I'll keep this secret. I know what happens when I don't."

"Really?" Nikolas said as he choked on his food.

"What? I can't joke about it?" she asked with a smirk. "We're friends now, remember?"

"Maybe let's not joke about that," he said, clearing his throat before he turned to Dr. Finn. "So, who are you exactly that we can trust you?"

"I worked in the many labs run by your family, and occasionally worked with Dr. Scorpio-Drake. I have been in contact with her and she believe she has figured out a way to restore Ms. Quartermaine's memories."

"Really? Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know, but Robin is a brilliant researcher and doctor so I am sure she wouldn't put anyone at risk."

"If I wasn't hit by that car, I would have had my memories so Robin obviously did something right with me," Jason said. "Can we see her?"

"Yeah, let's go," Nikolas said, leading the group to where Emily was staying. "I tried talking to her last night, but there's not even a glimmer of Emily in Claudette."

"I'll be down the hall, I don't need to be here for this," Hayden said to Nikolas, patting his arm reassuringly before walking away. Sam made a mental note to talk to her before she left.

"Why am I being held here against my will?" Claudette asked as they walked in. "What the hell is going on?"

"Claudette, do you remember me?" Dr. Finn asked as he approached her cautiously.

"Hamilton?"

"Yes," he nodded, overjoyed that she remembered who he was. "Things are going to be confusing for a while, but I promise you're safe here."

"Who are these people?"

"My friends," he said, not sure how to explain it. "I have to ask you some questions."

"So much has happened since you left, since Nathan and I divorced," she said, tears spilling from her eyes. "The kids are gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"It was awful," she sobbed. "These men took the younger ones for testing and they never came back. I was told they ran away, but Rafe said the conditioning chambers exploded."

"Rafe? Rafe Kovich?" Sam said, her heart clenching for the boy she fostered for a bit. "He's alive?"

"He left after the accident," Claudette said. "Mrs. Cassadine said he was useful to keep the kids in line, but that was it because he was tainted by drugs."

"I can't believe she took him too," Sam said, wiping at her eyes. "Why did Helena keep these kids?"

"She was preparing for some takedown plan for the future," Claudette rolled her eyes at how ridiculous that sounded. "Whatever experiments she had done on adults worked so well that she hoped to use kids to make sure they didn't know anything else. They were going to be perfect soldiers. There was one boy, Jake, who she was very fond of, but he wasn't taking well to the program."

"That's my son. What did she do to him?" Lucky asked.

"She was kind to him. Well, as kind as Mrs. Cassadine could be," Claudette shrugged. "She would lock him away when he cried at night for his parents. The other children stopped missing their parents after a while, but Jake never forgot his. Mrs. Cassadine was greatly displeased by his lack of progress. She had high hopes for him."

"I'm glad the bitch is dead," Lucky said as he tried to control his emotions.

"The other children, were they children from Port Charles?"

"Just Jake and Rafe came from here. She tried to revive a dead newborn that was found here, but that proved to be too difficult."

"When did she try to do this?" Sam asked, immediately thinking of her daughter, Lila.

"About four years. The child was just left in the storm, Mrs. Cassadine saved him."

"I buried that child. I thought he was my son."

"You buried a fake baby," Claudette said, not an ounce of sympathy in her voice. "I think I've sufficiently answered your questions. Now I have some of my own. Why am I here?"

"Do you remember anyone talking about Jason Morgan?" Jason asked.

"Of course. Mrs. Cassadine was so pleased when he lost his memory because her hard work would finally pay off, but it didn't play out that way. Another disappointment for her, she didn't speak much of her plans after that."

"I'm Jason Morgan. Helena robbed me of my family for years, and she's done the same to you," Jason said. "You have a family waiting for you here in town, you just can't remember them."

"My family is dead, and my husband divorced me after we were unable to conceive a child. Our marriage was of no use if we couldn't have children."

"That's horrible that Nathan had to marry her for that," Sam whispered and Jason nodded in agreement. "Claudette, we have a friend you might know as well coming to try to help you remember your past. We're just going to need you to stay here for a while."

"You'll be comfortable here," Nikolas reassured her.

"I was comfortable in my own home," she said angrily. "Hamilton, please."

"My apologies, but I have to agree with them. I will be by to check on you soon," he said as he stood up. Everyone took this as their cue to leave and filed out into the hallway. "Nikolas, can we speak?"

"Uh, sure," Nikolas said, confused as to what Dr. Finn would have to say to him. "Follow me."

"I can't believe Rafe is alive. I watched him die, I was there when Silas turned off the life support," Sam said, getting emotional again. Jason took Sam in his arms to comfort her. She had told Jason about Rafe and Silas a while ago and Jason knew the boy meant a lot to her.

"My son cried every night for me and I thought he was dead," Lucky said as he wiped at his eyes. His anger turned into sadness and he willed himself not to break down in front of them. "I can't tell Elizabeth this."

"Maybe she needs to hear it," Jason said. "It might put things into perspective how much Jake really needs his mother right now. Her priorities haven't really been in order."

"I don't know," Lucky said, knowing Jason was right but he didn't want to see her hurting. Despite everything she's done to him, he still cared and wanted to save her from any unnecessary pain and heartbreak.

"Jake is your son, it's your decision," Sam said. "I'm going to talk to Hayden quick, and then we'll head home?"

"Sounds good," Jason said, admiring the view of her behind as she walked away. He noticed Lucky was doing the same. "You're checking out my wife."

"Sorry. Just remembering when we used to date," he said and realized that was the wrong thing to say. "Sam's a wonderful woman, you're very lucky to have her."

"I know."

"I'm going to finish my breakfast, if you want to come downstairs," Lucky said, trying to ease the tension. "You watch sports?"

"Sometimes."

"Good, we'll talk sports and not your wife."

"Appreciate it."

Sam knocked on the door and let herself in to the room she saw Hayden go into. It was the library and she found Hayden sitting in the alcove looking out the window down at the water.

"Can we talk quick?" Sam asked and Hayden nodded, gesturing for her to sit down. "Are you safe living here?"

"Perfectly safe," Hayden said. "I appreciate the concern, I know Lucky went to you and you are why the man who shot me is behind bars. I also know that Nikolas hired him."

"So why are you still here?"

"At first it was out of revenge, but I'm just so tired of it all. Nikolas and I spoke this morning. While he did hire the hitman, he wasn't the only one. I would have been shot regardless, and I know that doesn't change anything really, but I can try to forgive him."

"I didn't find evidence of another hit on you."

"I spoke to the man who shot me and he wanted Nikolas to take the fall. The other person was one of the people who fell victim to my father's Ponzi scheme."

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm alive, and I want to turn over a new leaf. Nikolas is trying as well."

"He's done too much for me to forgive him. I don't see the cousin I knew anymore."

"He's coming back," Hayden said knowingly.

"I don't know if I care anymore, to be honest with you," Sam shrugged as she stood up. "I know we don't know each other, but if you need anything feel free to call me."

"Thank you," Hayden said, appreciating Sam reaching out to her.

* * *

Nikolas sat down behind his desk and gestured for Dr. Finn to sit as well. After everything that's already happened this morning, he just wanted to go back to bed and start the day over. He couldn't figure out for the life of him what this man had to talk to him about. If it had to do with Emily, he would have talked about it in front of Sam and Jason.

"I apologize for the mishap at the Nurse's Ball," Dr. Finn said.

"Nothing to apologize for, didn't have to do with you."

"But it did. I planned that to happen so I could find a way to have to indebted to me; but when I discovered you no longer had ELQ in your control, I realized I made a mistake."

"I'm sorry, what?" Nikolas said, not sure he was believing what he was hearing.

"I'm glad you were able to re-enter the vacation home in Greece, it is unfortunate that Helena had you banned from the premises," Dr. Finn continued. "Had I know Claudette was being kept there I would have brought her home myself. I never thought she would be held in our family home."

"Our?"

"Yes, dear nephew. I was made aware that Helena barred you from the Cassadine fortune until you found Valentin Cassadine. Well, here I am."

"That's not possible."

"But it is. I have stayed under the radar for many years and allowed Helena to believe I was working with her in her deplorable endeavor, but I was really working against her."

"Did you kill her?"

"I aided in her demise," Dr. Finn shrugged. "I tampered with the immortality treatments Robin created, so she never suspected a thing."

"So what now?" Nikolas asked, standing up and slamming his hands against the desk. "You're going to take everything from me? Take your place as the rightful heir?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I have no interest in the family fortune. I just wish to be able to continue my research at General Hospital and be free to live my life. You are a board member for the hospital, so I would like for you to ensure my employment there, and when it comes time for a vote for Chief of Staff in a few weeks, I would like for you to persuade the other members to reinstate Monica Quartermaine. Dr. Obrecht is not good for the hospital. I have worked with her in the past and her and Helena's goals aligned many times. She is not to be trusted."

"That's it?"

"For now," he shrugged. "I would like for you to keep my identity quiet, very few people are aware of who I truly am. You may continue to lead the life you are accustom to."

"I feel like this is going to backfire in my face down the road," Nikolas said cautiously.

"Have some faith, nephew. Enjoy the rest of your day."

* * *

Sam found Jason and Lucky downstairs talking about how Danny's been liking baseball, and how Jake seems to be adjusting much better these days now that he realizes Lucky is staying for good.

"I'm glad, the kid has been through a lot," Jason said, wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders when she stood next to him. "Everything good?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "We should get going."

"I agree," Jason said, knowing this has been a long morning already.

"I have to head down to the PCPD and hope I don't fall asleep at my desk," Lucky sighed as he began to clean up. "Elizabeth's going to be asking if I found out anything."

"I wouldn't tell her about Emily just yet, but other than that tell her whatever you think she needs to know," Sam said with a shrug. Her phone began to buzz and she excused herself to answer it. "Samantha Morgan."

" _Hi Sam, it's Britt. I'm just calling to let you know that your blood work confirmed the ultrasound. Congratulations, you're pregnant!_ "

"That's great," Sam said, feeling emotional again. "I'll see you in a month."

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, noticing Sam's eyes were watery. "Who was that?"

"The hospital," she said quietly as she smiled, her smile widening when Jason realized why she was so happy. "Everything is great."

"Good," he said, unable to keep the smile off his face as he hugged her. "Lets head home. Where's Finn?"

"I think he left after talking to Nikolas, and Nikolas is still upstairs so that must have been an interesting conversation," Lucky said.

"Yeah, I could imagine," Sam said, figuring Nikolas now knew he was Valentin. They went to leave and stopped when they saw Elizabeth walking up the path. "I am too tired to deal with her today."

"Me too," Jason groaned as he took Sam's hand and continued walking.

"Jason, can we talk?" Elizabeth said as she stopped in front of them.

"No, sorry. We need to get home," Jason said, stepping around Elizabeth.

"Well, that was rude," she said as she walked up to Lucky. "Looks like Sam has had an excellent influence on him."

"It's been a long night for everyone, Elizabeth," Lucky sighed. "Is it important? I'm on my way to work."

"I wanted to know where you and Nikolas went off to. Did you find out what happened to Jake?"

"He was held by Helena and she hoped to turn him into some kind of soldier for god knows what," Lucky said and Elizabeth gasped in shock. "He's going to be fine. He just needs to know we both love him and will be there for him. Our kids need to be our priority."

"Of course," Elizabeth said. "Where were Jason and Sam off to in such a rush?"

"Home," Lucky said, knowing this question was mainly because Jason blew her off.

"He moved in with her awfully fast, and then proposed," she said as she followed him back to the docks.

"Yeah? Same could be said about you and Jake Doe," Lucky said. "They're happy, Elizabeth. Leave it be. It's over."

"I know. I just wish it wasn't. Sam caused us so much pain, and she gets to be happy? I don't like it."

"You need to stop living in the past and stop condemning Sam for actions she earned forgiveness for."

"Fine," she said, but not planning on letting it go. "Since our kids need both their parents, would you like to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Sounds good. I'll come by after work," he said. Lucky knew Elizabeth wasn't going to get over losing Jason again to Sam, and would lose sight of what was important. He knew he had to tell her about Jake tonight, and hopefully that would be enough.


	22. XXII.

"Do we have to leave our bedroom today?" Jason asked as he rolled over and wrapped his arms around Sam, his hands resting against her stomach where their little boy or girl was growing. It had been a little over a month since they found out Sam was pregnant and it wasn't obvious, but Jason could tell her stomach was starting to grow. They were almost at the ten-week mark and Britt said everything was looking perfect.

"Unfortunately," Sam sighed as she wiggled closer to him, her hands resting over his. "I have lunch plans with my mom and Krissy."

"You gonna tell them the good news?" he asked as he kissed her neck, feeling her nod.

"Unless you want to do it together, but I figured it might be better this way. I know my mom says she's okay with us, but she tends to forget and start to hyperventilate and get ridiculous."

"You got this," he said, kissing her cheek before getting out of bed. "Sonny wanted to talk to me about something so I'm going to go there then stop at the hospital to congratulate Monica for being reinstated as Chief of Staff."

"Oh! Danny drew her a picture and I got a card for her, and tell her we'll come over for dinner if that's okay. I'm sure she'll want to hear there's another grandchild on the way."

"I'm sure she'll love that."

"We also have to talk about renewing our vows," Sam said, kneeling up in bed and pulling Jason back to her. "Like setting a date, and picking a place."

"How about on our anniversary?" Jason offered and noticed Sam's smile.

"I'm going to be like five months pregnant."

"Do you want to wait then until after you have the baby?"

"No, because I want to have it on our anniversary, I just hope I'm not huge."

"You'll be beautiful," he said, kissing her forehead. "I'm sure Carly is going to offer us the MetroCourt, but I know you want to have the same ceremony we had when we renewed our vows last year."

"This time you'll know your Jason and you're my husband," Sam smiled as she got out of bed, knowing she needed to start the day eventually.

"I just wish I remembered everything," he said with a sigh.

"You will, you've been remembering a lot lately. It's coming back," she reassured him as she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest as he hugged him.

"I just don't have the full picture yet. It's out of context."

"Which is confusing," Sam said and he nodded. "I love you, with and without your memories. I would love for you to remember, but I came to terms a long time ago that the memories of our past may be mine alone and I'm okay with that."

"I'm not."

"I know," she nodded. "I just want you to remember for you, not for anyone else."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"You've told me once or twice," she smiled as she leaned up to kiss him. Jason brought his hands up to her face, his fingers lacing into her hair as he deepened the kiss. Sam pulled away with a small smirk. "We need to shower, we're going to be late."

"I think I know of a way to cut our time in half," he said as he scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom, Sam's laughter echoing throughout the apartment.

* * *

Jason walked up to Sonny's house and rang the bell. He was wondering all morning why Sonny wanted to talk to him, and was bracing himself for the possibility of Sonny asking him to re-enter the business. He couldn't go back to that life, he had too much to lose now.

"Hey Jason, the boss is in the living room," Max said when he opened the door. Jason nodded and followed him inside. "How's Sam and Danny doing?"

"They're good."

"I saw these in the toy store the other day and thought of Danny," Max said as he pulled a shopping bag off the stairs. "I know he loves superhero movies and these are all the new action figures from the one that came out."

"Thanks, I'm sure he'll love them," Jason said.

"Jason, come in," Sonny said. Max smiled at Jason before going back outside. "It's good to see you."

"You too," Jason said as they sat down on the couch. "How's everything?"

"Good. Sam and Danny are good?"

"Yeah, Danny is at school and Sam went to lunch with Alexis and Kristina."

"Why do you look so nervous?" Sonny asked when he noticed how stiff Jason was sitting.

"I'm wondering why you called me here."

"You think I'm going to ask you to come back to work for me," Sonny said and Jason nodded. "I would love that, you were the best, but it would be your choice to come back."

"I can't," Jason shook his head. "I'm not that guy anymore."

"I know," Sonny nodded sadly. "You still don't remember anything?"

"I get flashes at certain moments, but sometimes they're out of context and other times I get the full memory but I don't have the rest to really feel it's emotional impact."

"Have you remembered our friendship?" Sonny asked, needing to know. He was hurt when Jason shook his head 'no', but quickly pushed that feeling aside when he realized he should just be grateful his best friend is sitting on his couch in his living room again. "I'd guess a lot of them are about Sam. She's a special woman, she always held a place in your heart."

"She's been through a lot, and I see she gets nervous when I leave sometimes still. She's scared I'm going to walk out the door again and not come back."

"With good reason," Sonny nodded. "Sam never forced you to change who you were, she knew you could handle yourself and with all the stuff we've gotten out of in the past, I bet she didn't think twice that night when you were just meeting with Bernie. After you died, she showed up in a scuba suit to search for you because she needed to do it herself. She still believed you were alive for years, and we all didn't believe her. We should have, I'm sorry."

"No one knew Helena took me," Jason shrugged.

"I actually wanted to thank you for looking out for my boys, that's why I called you here. Michael is so happy to be back at ELQ, and you've been great with Morgan. Carly told me you and Sam stopped by to visit him a few times with Kristina."

"You don't need to thank me for that."

"I do," Sonny nodded. "You've always looked out for my kids, have gone above and beyond to protect them, and I never took the time to really thank you. I always took for granted that you'd always be there to fix what I did wrong, and I shouldn't have. I depended on you more than I ever realized to keep this organization afloat when I went crazy."

"You're a good father, Sonny. You do what's best for your kids. That's why I hope you understand why I can't come back to work for you. I need to do what's best for Danny and the new baby."

"New baby?" Sonny asked. Jason winced, realizing his slip-up. "Sam's pregnant?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "She's telling Alexis and Kristina today."

"Congratulations," Sonny said, shaking his hand and bringing him in for a hug. "Those kids are lucky to have you as their father."

"I missed half of Danny's life, and I briefly remember how terrible I was to Sam when she was pregnant with him. I'm nervous I'm going to mess this one up to," Jason said. It was strange, but it felt natural for him to confide in the man standing before him.

"Did Sam tell you about our baby?" Sonny said after a moment and Jason nodded. "Sam wanted you to raise her, to be her father."

"I'm sure that went over well," Jason said, thinking of the messy custody battle over Avery.

"That one and only time, I was okay with it. I knew you'd love that little girl with everything you had and you'd take care of her, and she'd grow up with parents who loved each other. I was okay with just being known as Uncle Sonny, because she would have had you."

"That means a lot," Jason said. "I just don't want to let Sam down."

"You won't," Sonny said confidently.

"I should head over to the hospital," Jason said as he stood up to leave. "Danny drew a picture for Monica that he wanted to make sure she got it."

"Thanks for stopping by. Tell Sam I said congratulations, I'm really happy for the two of you."

* * *

"Sam! I got your phone call," Carly said as she ran over to Sam once she saw her walk into the lobby. "Why are you asking me to be nice to Hayden Barnes if she comes in looking for a job?"

"Because I know you," Sam said as they walked over to the elevator. "She's trying to get out on her own and I didn't want her shot down if she comes in here."

"You think so little of me," Carly said as they stepped onto the elevator. "Restaurant?"

"Meeting my mom and Kristina for lunch," Sam said. "Why don't you join us?"

"Lunch with Alexis?"

"Please? We're going over some wedding stuff," Sam said. She wanted to tell them all the news at once so Carly didn't complain about being the last to know again.

"Fine, I'm hungry anyway," she shrugged as they stepped off the elevator and headed over to where Alexis and Kristina were already sitting.

"What took so long?" Alexis asked as Sam and Carly sat down.

"I'm sure Jason was late to wherever he had to go to, as well," Kristina said with a smirk. "So, Sam. What is it that we have to discuss today?"

"Jason and I are going to renew our vows on our anniversary," Sam said. "We're going to go with the same ceremony, but we'll just have everyone there this time."

"I can hold the ballroom for you, if you want," Carly said.

"We still haven't decided if we'll just do it there or not, but thank you," Sam said. "Everyone approves this time around?"

"I've been in your corner since Jason died, so I'm all for this wedding," Carly said as she waved the waiter over to order food.

"He makes you happy, and that's all that I want for my oldest baby," Alexis said.

"Not that it really matters anyway, you two are married and having another baby," Kristina said and stopped when she realized what she said. "Shit."

"What?" Alexis and Carly yelled out.

"I'm honestly just surprised you kept your mouth shut this long," Sam said with a sigh. "I'm pregnant. That was what I really wanted to tell you guys today."

"Another baby! That's amazing," Carly said as she hugged Sam. "I mean it, I'm really happy for the two of you."

"Thank you," Sam said. She looked over at Alexis and noticed she looked pale. "Mom? You okay?"

"Just a lot going on, sweetie," Alexis said as she took a sip of water. "I'm so happy for you."

"Really? Because you don't look it."

"I just remember how emotionally difficult your pregnancy with Danny was. He pushed you away."

"It won't be that way again," Sam said. "The circumstances were a lot different, Mom."

"Yeah, like she thought she was raped," Carly said and winced. "Sorry. But, yeah, Jason was an ass. He won't be this time. You got me rooting for you two, I'll call him out."

"Let's be excited about this," Kristina said, trying to change the subject. She knew her mom was still leery on Jason, despite everything she has said, and her worries weren't unfounded but he loved Sam and that's all that matters. "My godchild is coming soon!"

"Godchild?" Alexis said.

"I knew she was pregnant, I made her take the pregnancy test. I get to be the godmother."

"How long have you known?"

"Since Lucas and Brad's wedding," Sam said. "Kristina stayed quiet for a real long time, I'm surprised she didn't burst."

"It took a lot of self control, which I obviously ran out of just now," Kristina said.

"It's okay," Sam said with a smile.

"This is awfully quick," Alexis said. "Are you sure you're ready for another baby?"

"It's a little late now, Alexis," Carly rolled her eyes, thanking the waiters as they brought over the food. "The baby isn't going to magically disappear."

"I know, I'm just saying," Alexis said as she sipped her water. "They just got back together after everything they've been through, he still doesn't remember. It's a lot, and things might get stressful."

"Of course they're going to get stressful, Mom," Sam said, not liking where this conversation was going. She wanted Alexis to be happy for her, she thought she got over her dislike of Jason. "Don't you want me to be happy? Isn't that what you said before?"

"Yes, of course."

"You're making it worse, Mom," Kristina said. "This is Jason and Sam we're talking about. They're married, they're in love, and you need to fully come to terms with that because he is back for good."

"I'm sorry," Alexis conceded, knowing she was wrong. "I ruined your announcement."

"No, I think Kristina did that," Carly said as she ate her salad. "You ruined the lunch conversation."

"Carly," Sam said, stopping her before things got worse. "I just want you to be happy for us, Mom."

"I am, sweetie. I really am, and I'm so excited for another grandbaby," Alexis said, reaching across the table to hold her hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Sam said. Her phone began to buzz on the table and she saw it was a text message from Dr. Finn asking her to come to the hospital. "Uh, I have to go."

"You scared her away, Mom," Kristina said.

"No, I forgot I had an appointment with Dr. Westbourne," Sam lied as she gathered her stuff. "I'll talk to you guys later."

"Tell Jason I said hi," Carly said before Sam left. "That could have gone much better."

"Shut up, Carly," Alexis grumbled as she picked at her food.

* * *

Sam spent the drive over the hospital thinking about what Dr. Finn needed to talk to her about. She was worried that something had happened to Emily, or that he was going to tell her someone else came back from the grave to throw this town for a tailspin. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't realize she walked into someone.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked up at the person who steadied her. "Jason?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at lunch?" he asked as they walked onto the elevator.

"I was, but Dr. Finn texted me," she said. "Has good timing too, my mother was being ridiculous."

"You told them the news?" he asked and she nodded. "Went that well, huh?"

"I know she means well, but no matter what she says she'll always have a part of her that's against us being together," Sam said with a sigh. Jason wrapped his arm around her should and she leaned into him. "She is happy for us, she just says the wrong thing. Carly and Kristina are thrilled."

"Add Sonny to the list too," Jason said.

"What did he want to talk to you about?"

"He wanted to talk to me about Morgan and Michael," he said. "We ended up talking about you."

"Oh God," Sam said, cringing at what Sonny could have said about her. "Do I want to know?"

"Nothing bad, I promise," Jason smiled. "I also have action figures from Max for Danny in my car."

"That's so sweet of him," Sam said. They stepped off the elevator and walked to the side to figure out where to go first. "Want to come with me to talk to Dr. Finn?"

"Absolutely," he nodded and they headed to the offices. "Any idea what this is about?"

"No, I wish I did," Sam said as she knocked on his door and entered. "Is everything okay?"

"Dr. Obrecht is very distraught over losing the Chief of Staff position," he said, gesturing for them to shut the door and sit. "Contacts I still have say that she was made Chief of Staff for a specific role and now that she no longer has the position, she is trying to still be useful."

"For what? There doesn't seem to be anything else going on that she would be involved in," Sam said.

"I was able to connect a lot of the larger accounts to the projects they were funding. The biggest project seemed to be a giant incubator. Helena wanted to raise children with her mindset and values so they would eventually do her bidding when they were older. What better way to do that then to have the child from birth?"

"You mean she was growing babies, basically?" Sam said in disgust. "Please tell me this wasn't successful."

"I don't know," he shrugged. "She would have needed fertilized embryos to try this."

"Which is why she needed Obrecht as chief of staff. If something went missing, she could easily cover it up," Jason said and Dr. Finn nodded.

"Jason, the will reading," Sam gasped. "Lulu Falconeri had embryos stolen from her, and I think they were fertilized by Stavros Cassadine. Helena said their bloodline didn't end."

"You think she was talking about Jake and the possibility of a baby being someone," Jason said. "This just got a lot messier."

"Obrecht is unhinged, I'd be careful with any encounters with her," Dr. Finn warned them. "I also wanted to let you know I checked in on Ms. Quartermaine earlier today. She still thinks she's Claudette, but I believe whatever treatments they were running on her are wearing off. She no longer believes she was a willing participant in her captivity."

"Lucky had taken pictures of the medicine cabinet and sent it over to Robin, hopefully it's helpful," Jason said. "We can't keep this from Monica much longer."

"We should tell her tonight," Sam said. "She deserves to know she's alive."

"If you think that is a wise path to take," Dr. Finn said.

"I won't keep this secret any longer than necessary. I can't," Sam said, thinking of how she felt knowing how long Elizabeth kept Jason from her.

"Keep us updated," Jason said as he opened the door for Sam so they could leave. He took Sam's hand in his and brought it up to his lips to kiss as they walked toward the admission's desk. "It's not the same, Sam."

"Isn't it?" Sam said, smiling a little at how Jason always knew what she was thinking. "We're keeping this secret from Monica. She has a right to know."

"We'll tell her tonight," Jason reassured her.

"Tell me what?" Monica asked, overhearing them say her name. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is great," Sam said, trying to hide her nerves. "We have some good news."

"Do I have to wait until tonight to hear it? And does that mean you two and my handsome grandson are coming over for dinner?"

"Yes, that was the plan," Jason said.

"So, what's the big news?"

"Uh," Sam said, not sure what to do. She wanted to tell Monica in private, but realized she wasn't getting out of this. She noticed Britt and Elizabeth behind the desk and sighed. Sam knew this this announcement wasn't going to be without drama, but she had no other options. "I'm pregnant! Jason and I are having another baby."

"That's wonderful," Monica said, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm so happy for the two of you! Another baby!"

"Yeah," Sam said and jumped when she heard a loud noise. She looked over Monica's shoulder and saw Elizabeth staring at them with an unreadable expression, and files scattered all around her.

"She's just really happy for you two," Britt said with a laugh. "I bet she's wondering how it wasn't her who got knocked up for the tenth time."

"Dr. Westbourne," Monica said sternly, but not really meaning it. "Don't you have patients to check on?"

"I do," she nodded as she stepped over the mess. "I'm very glad whatever fertility hocus pocus she was into stopped working on her and moved on to you."

"Thanks," Sam said with a smirk. "I'm glad she's back here."

"Figures you would be," Monica said with a laugh. "I'll see you two later tonight."

"It's out in the open now," Jason said as he pulled Sam close. "Feels more real."

"I know," Sam nodded as she smiled at him. She glanced over and saw Elizabeth was still picking up the paperwork. Her good side won out as she walked over and bent down to help her clean up. "I didn't plan on telling Monica like that, I'm sorry."

"Congratulations," Elizabeth said without looking up, bitterness coloring her tone. "Glad your happy."

"No your not," Sam sighed as she stacked the papers and stood up, glad it was cleaned up so she could leave. "But I appreciate the effort."

"I'm sure you do," she said, brushing past Sam.

"Don't know why I bother," Sam muttered to Jason as they headed to the elevators.

"Because you're the bigger and better person," he said simply. "How are we going to break the other news to Monica?"

"I don't know, but after her is Maxie," Sam said. "Maybe we should just put an article in Crimson about it and save us sometime."

"That's not such a bad idea."

* * *

"Thank you for having us, even though we basically invited ourselves over," Sam said as they finished dinner. Danny was in the living room playing with his new action figures with Tracy and Ned, leaving Jason and Sam alone with Monica. She didn't know how to go about telling her about Emily. Sam hoped she wouldn't be too mad at them for keeping her secret, but knew they deserved any anger directed at them for it.

"I love having you guys over, and Tracy adores Danny so she's much better to deal with when he's here," she laughed. "I'm sure she'll love the new baby just as much. I'm so happy for you two."

"Thank you," Jason said as he took Sam's hand and cleared his throat, wanting to get this over with. "Monica, there's something you need to know."

"This sounds like bad news," she said, bracing herself for the worst.

"It depends, really," Sam said. "You, uh, might be angry with us, but we didn't want to get your hopes up."

"What is it?"

"Maxie had asked Sam to look into Nathan West's ex-wife, Claudette. So, we found her," Jason said. "She's actually Emily."

"Emily?" Monica said breathlessly. "My Emily?"

"She was taken by Helena as well, but she has no memories of who she was. She's basically a new person, Monica. I'm so sorry we kept this from you, we wanted to make sure she was really still alive before anything. She's here in Port Charles, but she doesn't know anyone."

"She's alive," Monica said through tears. "My baby girl is alive."

"She is," Sam said, reaching over to comfort her. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you right away."

"No, I understand. Helena has toyed with all of us, it would have been much harder to find out she's been alive this whole time and then to find out she just died," Monica said. "Can I see her?"

"I think it'll be best to wait until Robin can figure out how to get her memories back," Jason said. "It'll be much more difficult for you to talk to her without memories than it was for you to talk to me because she still looks like herself."

"She doesn't remember her family at all?" Monica asked and Jason shook his head 'no.' "She's a stranger with my daughters face."

"She won't be a stranger for long," Sam said, hoping it was the truth. "She's safe with Lucky right now. Him and Nikolas found her and brought her home."

"After everything Nikolas has done the few years, I never thought I'd want to say thank you to him," Monica said with a dry laugh. "I'm assuming she's staying there."

"For now," Jason nodded. "She's getting stir crazy, and we didn't want you to find out from anyone else about this."

"Thank you," Monica said appreciatively. "What do I do if I see her around town? I don't know how to deal with this."

"Introduce yourself, talk to her. She's been held captive for years and is finally realizing she wasn't there on her own volition," Sam said. "She'll need people to talk to."

"Robin thinks familiar faces will help bring her memories back once she starts administering the treatment she came up with," Jason explained. "She should be coming in soon if she was able to get the time off."

"I wish her and Patrick didn't move out to California, I'd rehire them in a heartbeat," Monica sighed. "I think I need to lie down."

"Of course," Sam said as she and Jason stood up. "We should probably get Danny home, it's getting late."

"I can stop by in the morning, if you want," Jason offered, knowing how upset Monica was.

"I'll be fine, really," she reassured them. "Goodnight."

"That went better than expected," Jason said as they drove home.

"I know the pain she's feeling, it's the worst feeling in the world knowing the person you love doesn't remember any of the moments you share," Sam said and stopped. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I've been the cause of your pain for so long," he said, reaching over to hold her hand. "I wish I could remember for you."

"I don't want you to remember for me, Jason. You need to remember for yourself, so you can feel whole again. That's all I want for you," she said. "I meant it when I said I love you with or without your memories. The happiest and saddest day was when Carly found out you weren't Jake and you were Jason, because you were alive but you had no idea who I was to you."

"But now I do, and I'm never going to forget that again."

"That's all I want," she said with a small smile. "You and Danny are all I ever wanted."

"You have us, I promise."


	23. XXIII.

Sam was rehearsing what she was going to tell Maxie on her drive over to her apartment building. Even though her and Emily were never close, Sam knew it was going to be awkward that Nathan's secret ex-wife is really Emily Quartermaine and not a random woman. No matter how she phrased it, there was no good way to go about this. She stepped off the elevator and decided to stop at Spinelli's first to stall for a bit.

"Fair Samantha, please come in," Spinelli said when he answered the door. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Haven't seen you in a while," Sam shrugged. "I'm actually here to tell Maxie about Claudette being Emily, but I'm stalling."

"Fair enough. How is everything between you and Stone Cold?"

"Oh, I have great news!" Sam said happily. "I'm pregnant!"

"That's wonderful news," Spinelli said as he hugged her. "I am thrilled over the newest addition to the Morgan family."

"Thank you," Sam smiled. "I've been meaning to get over here sooner, everything has just been crazy it's been one thing after another."

"How is everything now that Noble Emily has returned to Port Charles?"

"Well, Monica knows. She took it better than expected when we told her last night, but Jason went over there today to check on her. I'm sure the shock wore off by now," Sam sighed. "Helena has been taking children and keeping them captive for some grand plan she was cooking up."

"That is most horrifying," Spinelli said with a shudder.

"Yeah, it's sick," Sam said. "She took Rafe and brought him back."

"How is that possible? He was brain dead."

"I don't know," Sam shook her head. "After finding out Jason was alive and Jake, I don't question anything anymore when Helena is involved."

"Is he also here in Port Charles?"

"No, Emily said he's on the run somewhere."

"I'll see if I can find him," Spinelli offered. "You were kind to him, you took him in like you took me in."

"He has no family, I just want him to know he can come back here and there will be a home for him," Sam said. "And Jason is to thank for taking you in."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Spinelli said with a small smile, thinking about how great Sam and Jason had been to him over the years. "You befriended me, and stayed my friend through everything. No one ever wanted to see past my geeky exterior."

"I'm glad we're friends," Sam said and pulled him in for a hug. "And thank you for offering to find Rafe."

"I will do my best, which hasn't be that great lately," Spinelli said.

"You've gone above and beyond," Sam said, not wanting him to get down on himself. "It was dumb luck that Nikolas and Lucky found Emily. You're the one who has been connecting Obrecht to everything. Dr. Finn said she's losing it because she's no longer Chief of Staff."

"I've been tracking her movements. She's been spending time in the labs funded by the Cassadines."

"That's a problem," Sam sighed. "Dr. Finn said that one of Helena's big projects was making these incubator things for a baby, and Helena had taken one of Lulu's embryos."

"I will look into that as well," Spinelli said as he opened his computer and began to type. "Hopefully I am more successful than before."

"Anything and everything helps," she said as she stood up. "I should go see if Maxie's home. Get this over with as soon as possible."

"Like ripping off a band-aid," Spinelli said and Sam nodded. "I'll be across the hall for moral support."

"Thanks," Sam said. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door, and prayed it was Maxie who answered.

"Hey Sam," Nathan said and Sam sighed. "What brings you by?"

"Just wanted to talk to Maxie, catch up a bit," she said as she stepped into the apartment. "Is she home?"

"Yeah, she's in the bathroom. Make yourself comfortable," he said as he grabbed his badge and gun off the coffee table.

"Heading off to work?"

"Yeah, paperwork awaits," he said. "Tell Maxie I said bye. If I wait any longer for her to come out, I'll be late."

"Will do," Sam nodded. Sam pulled out her phone and texted Jason to see how Monica was.

"Sam? Where's Nathan?" Maxie asked when she came out.

"He went to work, he said bye," Sam said, sliding her phone back in her pocket. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Good news or bad?" she asked as she sat down on the couch next to Sam. "This has to do with Claudette, doesn't it?"

"I found out who she is," Sam said. "Just keep in mind Nathan had no idea when he was married to her, and I think he only found out recently."

"Sam, who is it?"

"Emily Quartermaine."

"That's impossible, she's dead," Maxie said as she stood up and began to pace. "Why would he be married to her?"

"Helena had this weird obsession to get a union between a Cassadine and a Quartermaine, probably to secure money in the future," Sam explained. "Nathan is Victor Cassadine's son, but Obrecht lied and said he wasn't."

"Why does he think her name is Claudette then?"

"She has no memory of being Emily. Robin is coming in soon to try to administer treatments to help her memories come back, but there's no guarantee."

"You don't think it's strange that he ended up in Port Charles?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "Until I know for sure, I'm not assuming anything. Everything Jason and I have found out seems to point to Nathan having no idea Claudette had ties to this town."

"You know I'm not going to be able to keep my mouth shut about this," Maxie said as she sat down. "I don't know what to do. I love him, but he's kept this huge secret from me."

"That's up to you," Sam told her. "Monica knows that Emily is alive, so this info is at your disposal."

"I can't believe that. Who else from the dead is going to pop back up to haunt us?"

"Sad thing is I thought the same thing recently," Sam sighed. "Are you okay?"

"Not really, but I will be once I figure out what to do," Maxie said.

"I have some good news that might cheer you up," Sam said with a smile. "I'm pregnant."

"That's the best news ever!" Maxie said as she hugged her. "Really, that's amazing. How happy were you when you took the test?"

"I was so nervous," Sam said honestly. "Jason still doesn't fully remember anything, and the memories he has don't really click yet. I was scared he would feel more obligated to be with me."

"Jason loves you, he's always wanted this with you."

"He also wanted it with Elizabeth at one point."

"Years ago he did. She got pregnant by mistake, that's not love."

"I know. I don't doubt his love for me, and I love him so much," Sam said. "I just still get nervous sometimes he feels stuck. He got told who he was and found out he was married to me and had a son with me. It's a mess."

"You didn't push this relationship on him, you gave him space to figure things out and he came back to you," Maxie reassured her. "You're not Elizabeth, you're not trapping him or manipulating him."

"If I tell you something, you can't repeat it," Sam said and Maxie nodded. "I get scared sometimes for when he does remember who he is, when all his memories come back."

"Why? You think he'll remember the time when you called him over to show him the hot tub you were going to seduce Lucky Spencer in?" Maxie asked with a smirk.

"No!" Sam said and blushed. "Even if he does remember that, I don't regret it. He needed to know what he was missing out on."

"So what are you worried about?"

"He's always had a soft spot for Elizabeth. No matter what she did, he couldn't see it that she was being manipulative. I'm worried he's going to forgive her for everything she's done and she'll worm her way in between us again. If that happens, I don't know if Jason and I could survive that this time."

"You'd rather him not remember?"

"Never! I want him to remember everything so he knows who he is again. I hate how lost he gets sometimes and confused about what he thinks he should be doing," Sam said. "This is coming out all wrong."

"No, I understand. It's nothing you can plan for. When he remembers who he is, you take it one day at a time and see how it all plays out."

"You're right," Sam nodded. "I should head home. I need to clean before Danny comes home. Will you let me know what happens when you confront Nathan about this? I know you, and you're not subtle."

"Yes," Maxie rolled her eyes as she walked Sam out. "I've mellowed out over the years."

"Sure," Sam said, the sarcasm in her tone heavy as she stepped into the hallway. "Just think before you speak."

"Yes, mom," Maxie said with a smirk.

* * *

Jason had gone to the Quartermaine's that morning hoping to catch Monica before she went to work, but Alice said she had left early and looked like she didn't sleep well. He thanked Alice and headed over to the hospital on his motorcycle.

"I'm looking for Dr. Quartermaine," Jason said to the blonde nurse at the desk. "Do you know if she's in?"

"I think so," the nurse said and smiled at Jason when she finally looked up from her folders. "I'm Amy."

"Jason," he said. "So, Dr. Quartermaine is where?"

"Are you Jason Morgan?"

"Why?"

"I've just heard stories," she said with a smile. "Is it true Nurse Webber lied about knowing who you were?"

"If you could just tell me where I could find Dr. Quartermaine's office, that would be great," he said, getting annoyed with this nurse.

"Down the hall and to the left," she said, clearly unhappy he didn't answer her question. "She's in a meeting with some woman, though."

"That's fine," Jason said, already halfway down the hallway. He knocked on her door before entering and was surprised to see Robin there. "Sorry, that new nurse was getting on my nerves."

"Amy?" Monica asked and Jason nodded. "She's the hospital gossip."

"I gathered."

"What brings you here?"

"I wanted to check on you after last night," he said and Monica smiled, touched that he cared. "I'm assuming that's what you two were talking about?"

"I wanted to consult with her about my treatment plan for Emily," Robin explained. "I went over it all with Patrick since he's the best neurosurgeon I know, but wanted to go over it with Monica before starting it."

"You think it'll bring her memories back?" Jason asked and Robin nodded. "Do you think it would work on me?"

"I wouldn't want to risk it," Robin said and frowned when she saw disappointment cross his face. "Emily's hippocampus is essentially dead, for lack of a better term. Your memories have been coming back naturally, just slowly. I don't want to do anything that could ruin that development. If I was confident it would work, I'd start right now, but you've come so far on your own."

"I understand."

"Robin thinks it'll help her, and I trusted Robin's opinions when it came to your brain," Monica said. "I'd be foolish not to trust her with Emily's."

"I can't promise she'll remember everything, but I think it'll help get some memories back and hopefully that will trigger some more," Robin said. "I'm going to head over to Cassadine Island today to begin."

"Since Monica knows and Sam went to tell Maxie today, it doesn't have to be a secret that Emily is back anymore," Jason said. "It might be good for her to be able to get out and see some familiar sights."

"People are going to approach her with a ton of questions," Robin said with concern. "I don't want to keep her cooped up in that castle, but she didn't come back with a new face like you did."

"Nikolas and Lucky agreed to stay with her when she goes out, she's gotten comfortable around them," Jason said.

"You sound thrilled about that arrangement," Robin said with a smirk.

"Nikolas isn't my favorite person and isn't someone I really want around my sister right now, but Sam thinks it's okay. She thinks he's trying to be better, and she doesn't want to let our feelings toward him get in the way of that."

"Sam has always been rather level-headed," Monica said. "I hate to cut this visit short, but I have some things to take care of before a meeting with the board."

"I should get going anyway," Robin said.

"Are you sure you're okay with everything?" Jason asked Monica.

"I am," she nodded. "My two children are alive and well, even if they don't have their memories. If AJ was still alive, our family would be complete."

"Okay," he said.

"You don't remember AJ yet, do you?" Robin asked as they walked down the hallway. Jason shook his head. "He was your brother. You two didn't really get along. We thought he was dead, but it turns out that Monica and another doctor revived him and kept him in a rehab facility overseas. He came back after you died."

"What happened to him?"

"I think Sonny shot him. I'm not sure on all the details, Patrick told me what happened. It caused a huge problem between Sonny and Michael because AJ is Michael's biological father."

"When you say we didn't get along, was it bad?"

"He did some really terrible things, he kidnapped Michael. He was drunk, he had problems. There was no love lost between the two of you," she said. "I think he was dating Elizabeth while he was here."

"She dated my brother?"

"She has a thing for brothers," Robin said and then realized what she said. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's fine," Jason said with amusement. "I bet it gets tiring trying to be nice to her after everything."

"She hurt Emma. I don't think she really intended that to happen, but she hurt my daughter and I'm not okay with that," Robin said with a small shrug. "Moving helps since I don't have to see her everyday, but it bothers me."

"You're lucky, every time Sam and I are here we end up seeing her. She overheard Sam tell Monica the other day she's pregnant."

"Sam's pregnant?" Robin asked and hugged him. "That's fantastic, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks," he smiled. "It came as a surprise, but we're excited."

"Sam's a great mom, and you're amazing with Danny like you were with Michael when he was a baby," Robin said. "I'm glad you two finally have a chance to have the family you always wanted."

"I gave Jason a family," Elizabeth muttered to herself as she overheard Jason and Robin's conversation. "He was happy with me, he was safe. He'll realize he belongs with me and not that tramp."

"Um, Nurse Webber?" Amy asked, noticing she was talking to herself. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine," she snapped as she shut the folder she was writing in. "Everything is fine."

"Everything doesn't seem fine."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Are you rude to everyone who is new here?" Britt asked as she handed Amy files of the patients she met with already today. "It's a little excessive."

"Jason, can we talk?" Elizabeth said as she ran over to him, ignoring the commentary from Britt. "Hi Robin."

"We have nothing to talk about, Elizabeth," he said and began to walk away, but she grabbed onto his arm.

"Yes, we do. You were going to marry me, Jason. We were going to have a life together, and it's like you forgot all about the love we shared. I didn't," she said, desperation clear in her voice. "I still love you. We can try again."

"No, we can't," he said, removing her hands from his arm. "I love Sam, I'm married to Sam. We're having a baby together. She hasn't lied to me. You, on the other hand, have. The man you had a relationship with was Jake Doe, not me. I'm sorry you're unable to move on from this, but that's no longer my problem."

"Elizabeth, you're making a scene," Robin said quietly when she noticed everyone watching them. "Maybe you should take the day off."

"Please, Jason," she said as she pushed up on her toes to kiss him. He quickly pushed her away and wiped at his mouth. "So that's it?"

"I'm leaving," he said angrily as he headed for the stairs to the garage, not wanting to wait around any longer for the elevator.

"I don't know what's happened to you, but you've changed for the worst," Robin said before walking away, leaving Elizabeth standing alone.

"Wow," Amy whispered to Britt. "That was crazy."

"Welcome to General Hospital," Britt said.

* * *

"I hope you don't mind, I used my old key to let myself in to wait for you," Alexis said when Sam walked into the penthouse.

"No, not at all. Is everything okay?" she asked as she set down her shopping bags and walked over to the couch.

"I wanted to apologize for how I reacted the other day. I'm so happy for you and Jason," Alexis said as she held Sam's hands.

"I know you are, you don't have to apologize."

"I do," Alexis nodded. "I've been saying how supportive I am of you two and how I'm glad he's back in your life, and then when things get real I revert back to my old ways and try to make you question how you feel about him and it's not fair of me."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you can't make me question how I feel about Jason. I love him so much that nobody can make me think twice about my feelings. He's back and we've gotten this second chance to be a family, I'm not letting anyone get in my way. Not even my own mother."

"I'm very happy to hear you say that," Alexis said with a small laugh. "I just worry about you, and that turns into being judgmental."

"I know," Sam nodded. "You don't have to worry. Things are a lot different than last time."

"Molly was upset you didn't wait for her to get home from school to tell us, but she's very happy for the two of you as well."

"If I waited any longer, Kristina would have been digging through my trash for the pregnancy test she made me take," Sam said. "She knew right away when she came by on her lunch break."

"How did Jason take the news?"

"He's excited," Sam said.

"But?" Alexis said, noticing the tone in Sam's voice.

"I am so grateful to have him back with me and Danny, I just wish his memories were back. I'm scared he's going to see us as a burden eventually."

"He would never see you or Danny as a burden," Alexis reassured her. "He came back to you, sweetheart."

"I know," she nodded. Her phone started to ring, so she grabbed her bag to answer it. "Hello?"

" _Sam, it's Nikolas. You need to come to GH_."

"Why? What's wrong?"

" _I found Jason on the side of the road. It looked like he got run off the road. He hit his head, Sam_."

"I'll be right there," she said and hung up, grabbing her jacket and purse. "Jason's been in an accident."

"I'll take care of Danny. Go," Alexis said.


	24. XXIV.

"I'm on my way back, I had to pick up a few things," Nikolas said into his phone as he was driving back to Cassadine Island.

" _You said that twenty minutes ago, and no one is here to make sure Emily doesn't jump ship_ ," Lucky said. " _Dante's covering for me, but I'm late_."

"Relax," Nikolas said, rolling his eyes at his brother's dramatics. "Robin's on her way over, she texted me before."

" _Fine_ ," Lucky said. " _Did you call Spencer?_ "

"I don't need a secretary, Lucky," Nikolas said. He was about to say something else when he noticed a bike sideways on the road and a man lying on the ground, potentially bleeding out of his helmet. "I think there was an accident."

" _Where?_ "

"Hold on," he said, stopping the car and getting out. "Shit, Lucky, it's Jason."

" _I'll call it in. You want an ambulance?_ "

"No, I'll drive him to GH. Make sure no one pulls me over," he said as he pocketed his cell phone so he could lift Jason into the backseat. "He hit his head."

" _That can't be good. I'm calling it in now, and then I'll call the hospital and give them the heads up. Call me when you get there,_ " Lucky said before hanging up. Nikolas got Jason to lie down on the backseat and hoped the seatbelt he put around him was enough. He jumped into the drivers seat and sped away.

"Call Samantha Morgan," he said to the voice-activation system in his car. "Sam, it's Nikolas. You need to come to GH."

" _Why? What's wrong?_ "

"I found Jason on the side of the road. It looked like he got run off the road. He hit his head, Sam."

" _I'll be right there_ ," she said and hung up. Nikolas pressed on the gas pedal, and prayed that he makes it there in time for everything to be okay.

* * *

"Monica, Monica!" Sam said as she ran off the elevator when she spotted her mother-in-law. "Is he here yet?"

"Nikolas just brought him in, they're evaluating him now. I think it looks worse than it is," Monica said. "I'm hoping anyway."

"Do you think he's going to lose his memories again?"

"I don't know," she said.

"You can call me crazy after, but I need Elizabeth to stay far away from him," Sam said and Monica nodded.

"I'll check in with Epiphany to see where she's been assigned. Jason is in the room down the hall," Monica said and hugged Sam. "It'll be okay."

"I hope so," she whispered. Sam walked over to the room that Jason was in and paced back and forth. She didn't know what to expect, but she was preparing herself for the worse.

"Hey," Nikolas said as he approached Sam. "He's going to be okay."

"Thank you," Sam said as she hugged him. "I don't know what I'd do if something happens to him again."

"He's in there with Dr. Munro, and I think Lucas is in there as well," Nikolas reassured her. "I was on the phone with Lucky when I saw him, so the PCPD is looking into it, and Robin is coming back here once Hayden gets back."

"Why are you doing all this?"

"You're family, and I should have remembered that a long time ago," he said.

"Is it true? Is Jason in there?" Elizabeth asked as she ran over to them. "What happened?"

"Leave," Sam said. "You have no business being here."

"I have every right to be here," Elizabeth said defensively. "I work here. He's my friend."

"I don't care, you're going nowhere near my husband."

"We'll see about that," Elizabeth said as she went to go into the room, but Nikolas stopped her. "Nikolas, let go of me."

"I would advise you to go find somewhere else to be, or to go home," he said as he moved her away and stood in front of the door.

"So your on Sam's side now?"

"There are no sides, I don't want there to be sides," he said with a sigh. "Sam requested you don't go near Jason, so you have to honor that request."

"That's bullshit."

"Nurse Webber," Epiphany said as she approached them. "I believe I already told you to head over to the NICU, or did you already forget?"

"I should be in there helping, I helped him recover the last time."

"Which is exactly why I don't want you near him," Sam snapped.

"Follow me," Epiphany said and Elizabeth glared at them before leaving.

"Is there anything you need?" Nikolas asked and Sam shook her head. "I'm going to call Lucky and see if he thinks someone tampered with his bike or if it was just an accident."

"Keep me updated," she said and he nodded.

Sam slid down against the wall and sat on the floor, resting her head against her knees as she tried to calm herself down. She hadn't felt this helpless since Danny got sick, and she prayed to Jason to help her get through this. She didn't know what to do now.

"Mrs. Morgan?" Dr. Munro said, startling her from her thoughts. "He's stable, but he took a pretty big blow to the head."

"He has a past of brain injuries," she said and he nodded.

"Dr. Quartermaine informed me of everything. I'm going to see if I can get in touch with Dr. Drake to go over a few things with him, but I've been told that Robin is in town and on her way over."

"I need to know how bad it is, it must be bad if you're going to call Patrick."

"Jason has a traumatic brain injury, and from what I know from his history there's been many complications. Throw in the fact that he was suffering from amnesia and just recently began to get more of his memories back, I want to be very careful with him," he explained and she nodded. "You can go in, Dr. Jones is still in there."

"Thank you," she said, taking his hand to help her off the floor. She walked into the room and tried to keep her composure as she saw him lying there with bandages wrapped around his head.

"He's out cold from the blow to the head," Lucas said, pulling a chair over so Sam could sit next to Jason. "He came to for a minute and was in excruciating pain so he's on morphine. Grif thinks he'll fully wake up in a little while, but he's being overly cautious."

"I'm scared he's going to wake up and not know who I am," Sam said as she took Jason's hand and held it.

"Think positive, it's just a really bad bump on the head."

"Lucas," Sam said and felt the tears fall down her cheeks. He went over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her close and she began to cry into his chest.

"He's going to be okay."

"I can't have him wake up and not know who I am again," she said through her tears. "I don't want him to feel trapped if he wakes up and finds out he's married to me and we're having a baby. I can't do that to him."

"You don't know what's going to happen until he wakes up. Just talk to him," Lucas said. Sam had finally calmed down enough for him to feel okay to leave her. "I'm going to see if Griffin spoke to Patrick yet, I'll come back to check on you. Get someone if he wakes up."

"Okay," she nodded. She looked down at Jason's hand and began to trace shapes in his palm, trying to distract herself and to keep her mind from wandering to bad scenarios. "Jason, I need you to wake up and tell me that you know who you are. I need you to ask what happened to your bike, or tell me that you want to go home because you hate hospitals and it's just a bump. I need you to say something that lets me know you are still you, because I'm not strong enough to start over again.

"I don't care if your memories from before you were shot are gone forever, I just need you to wake up and say you remember the life we've built now. I don't want you to wake up a new person again and feel stuck with me because we're married and I'm pregnant. If you do, it will be so much harder to move on because I know you're alive and still here but just not with me. Who am I kidding, I never really moved on. I loved Patrick enough to want to marry him, but he wasn't you. You're the only person I've ever loved this much, and the only person I ever will love this much. Even when I thought you were dead, I was so hesitant to really get into a relationship. You're the one I want to grow old with and love forever."

"You're going to call me crazy when you find out how I've been acting," she said with a small, humorless laugh. She wiped at her eyes as her emotions finally settled. "I banned Elizabeth from coming in here because I was scared that she'd take her chance again if you woke up with no memories, but now I'm doing the same thing. Now that I've calmed down, I realized that. She's still not allowed near you though until you're awake and other people have checked in on you. So, I am going to leave you here and keep someone on guard until you wake up because I'm not going to confuse you.

"If you're in there, I just want you to come home," she whispered before kissing his forehead. She went to walk away, but felt his grip tighten on her hand. She gasped when she felt it and braced herself for the worst when she turned around.

"Sam," he whispered horsely. "What happened?"

"You had an accident, you hit your head. Let me get Dr. Munro," she said, but he wouldn't let go of her hand.

"I should have never left you that night. I thought it was going to be quick."

"What are you talking about?"

"The night at the pier. I left because I knew I always would come back to you, and that night I didn't. I left you and Danny alone," he said. "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay," she said. "I'm going to call in a doctor."

"Sam, I remember everything," he said, stopping her in her tracks. "I remember our first kiss at Nikolas and Emily's wedding. I remember that awful BLT you made at the cabin before I had to turn myself in, but you tried so hard. I remember how you were denied a conjugal visit because we weren't married, so Spinelli found my wedding license with Brenda. I have to say, remembering that visit is much better than the PG version you showed me."

"You remember," she said, tears falling from her eyes.

"I remember when Michael shot A.J. and I felt like I couldn't help him because of my brain damage, because I couldn't feel things properly, and I thought I was failing him and that I'd eventually fail you. You told me I could never fail you, that you knew better than anyone how much I felt and could love. You kept me alive, Sam; if it wasn't for you, I would have lived out my days in Hawaii and died there."

"But you're here, you're back," she whispered as she placed her hand on his cheek. "That's all that matters."

"I did fail you, Sam," he said and she looked at him in confusion. "I failed you when I let other people get in between us, and I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to apologize for, Jason. I made huge mistakes too, but we ended up together in the end. I stand by what I said that night, you can never fail me. Now, please, let me call in a doctor to check on you," she said and laughed when he started to complain. "I'll be right back."

Sam went in the hallway and saw Griffin talking with Robin by the nurse's station. She ran over to them and couldn't help but be excited.

"He's awake," she said and Griffin went straight to Jason's room. "Robin, he remembers. He remembers everything."

"Everything?" Robin asked and Sam nodded. "Sam, I'm so happy for you."

"This is great news for everyone," she said and they walked into Jason's room together. Sam walked over to the side of the bed and Jason scooted over so she could sit with him. "Did you talk to Patrick?"

"I did," Griffin said. "He said everything looks okay, and I was discussing his memories with Robin, but it looks like we don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Great, so I can go home?"

"Not yet," Robin smirked. "Good to see your aversion to hospitals hasn't changed. Griffin and Lucas said you woke up in excruciating pain before passing out again. Any idea what that was about?"

"It was like the headaches I got when I was fighting against Helena's conditioning, but ten times worse."

"You think that's why his memories weren't all back yet?" Sam asked.

"It's possible that whatever Helena did to you has finally worn off," Robin said. "You need to stay overnight to make sure those headaches don't come back."

"Really? It's just a headache."

"I'll make sure he stays," Sam said and Robin nodded. "How many times have I found you passed out on the floor because of your head?"

"A couple."

"So you're staying here tonight, and so am I," she said.

"What about Danny?"

"He's with my mom. I can have her bring him here," she said and he nodded. "I'll text her."

"If we can keep my memories coming back between us right now, I'd appreciate it," Jason said. "I know a lot of people have been waiting for this, but I just want to spend some time with Sam and Danny before I have to deal with everyone else."

"No problem," Robin said with a smile. "I'm so glad you're fully back, Jason."

"Thank you, Robin," he said, taking her hand. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"I'm going to let the nurses know not to bother you so you can rest. If there's any changes, come find me or Dr. Jones," Griffin said.

"Will do, I've got it covered from here," Sam said with a smile as she shimmied down on the bed to rest her head on Jason's chest, Griffin and Robin leaving them alone. "This is real, right?"

"Yeah, it is," he said as he brushed her hair away from her forehead and leaned down to kiss her.

"Are you still excited about the baby?" she asked quietly, looking down at her hand that was absentmindedly drawing patterns on his chest. She felt his hand on her stomach and she looked up at him.

"I can't tell you how happy I am for this baby, and I promise to make it up to you for how I handled everything when you were pregnant with Danny," he said sincerely. "I missed out on everything with him, but I won't let that happen again."

"It wasn't your fault."

"It was my fault that I let Elizabeth get in between us again, that I let Franco get in my head and I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," she said as she leaned up on her elbow. "All I care about is that you're here now, and you're finally whole."

"I love you," he said, placing his hand on her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her.

* * *

"At least the bike isn't totaled," Dante said as he walked over to Lucky. "What do you think happened here?"

"Jason's pretty careful on his bike, I don't think he'd just slip up and crash," Lucky said as he squatted down and inspected the street. "I don't see any tire marks that would suggest he was run off the road."

"Maybe the bike was tampered with," Dante suggested. "They've collected all the parts so I guess we'll find out with a rebuild."

"This is a mess," Lucky sighed as he pulled out his phone to call Nikolas. "Hey, are you at the hospital?"

" _Yeah, I think he's awake. I saw Dr. Munro and Robin walk out of the room_."

"You think I can question him? It looks like his bike might have been tampered with, I need to know what happened before he crashed."

" _Come by and see, I have no idea. Robin told me he was here before the crash, so many you can look at surveillance footage from the garage_."

"Stay there. I'll be over there soon."

"Lovely," Nikolas said when he hung up. He stayed around to make sure that there weren't any problems, but he just wanted to get back home.

"Nikolas, what are you doing here?" Alexis asked when she stepped off the elevator with Danny in her arms.

"I was the one who called Sam. I found him and brought him here," Nikolas said, being mindful of Danny. "Hey Danny, how are you?"

"Grandma said Daddy has a boo-boo. Is he okay?"

"I think so," Nikolas said. "I think he's waiting to see you."

"Let's not keep him waiting," Alexis said, smiling gratefully at Nikolas. She knocked on the door before walking in. "Danny wanted to make sure his dad was okay."

"I'm better than okay, buddy," Jason said, opening his arms to take Danny from Alexis. "Were you good for grandma?"

"Of course he was," Alexis said. "I'm going to hang around a bit, Nikola is still here."

"Really?" Sam asked and Alexis nodded.

"Just yell if you need anything," she said, leaving them alone.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Sam said to Jason, who was holding Danny in his arms like it was the first time. "All I ever wanted was for you to know he was yours."

"It sounds crazy because I've spent all this time with him, but it feels so new to hold him now that my memories are back."

"It's one thing for me to tell you he's your son and tell you what happened, but it's completely different for you to remember it and now see him knowing he's really yours," she said, wiping at her eyes. She was surprised she was still about to produce tears after all the crying she's done today.

"Why are you crying, Mommy?"

"I'm just really happy, and the baby in my tummy makes me get silly sometimes," she said as she ran her fingers through Danny's hair.

"Is Grandma Monica here?"

"I think she's in a meeting. I'm sure she'll be coming in here in a little bit to check on Daddy. Why don't you take a nap?"

"Okay," he nodded before cuddling against Jason's chest and quickly falling asleep in his arms.

"Thank you for letting him get to know my family," Jason said quietly.

"That wasn't even a question. I brought him to meet Edward before he passed away to let him know he was his great-grandson. He was so happy, I think he would have loved Danny."

"I remember you telling me about your fantasy. We had a boy and a girl," he said. "Maybe it'll finally come true."

"My fantasy came true when you came back to me," she said and leaned over to kiss him. "We can't keep this quiet for long."

"I know," he sighed. "But for now, you're the only person who needs to know. I have all I need right here."

"Me too."


	25. XXV.

"Is he awake?" Lucky asked when he approached Nikolas, who was sitting in the waiting area with Alexis. "I was hoping to talk to him about what happened."

"You can check, I dropped Danny off about half an hour ago," Alexis said. "I'm going to get some coffee, would anyone like anything?"

"No, thank you," Nikolas said as he stood up and walked over to Lucky. "Any idea what happened?"

"We think someone tampered with his bike, it doesn't appear he was run off the road."

"Any idea who would do that?"

"Jason has a lot of enemies," Lucky shrugged. "Maybe someone found out he's alive and came back to finish him off."

"It could have to do with everything we've been involved with too," Nikolas said.

"Nikolas, hi," Britt said when she walked over to them. "I, uh, I wanted to know if you heard how Jason was doing."

"Nothing yet," he said. "Why do you care?"

"Sam's my patient," she said, not wanting to make too much out of the maybe friendship they were forming.

"She's pregnant?" he asked, knowing she's an OB/GYN. "No wonder she's been going crazy about Elizabeth today."

"Yeah, well she did kiss him earlier today," Britt said, rolling her eyes.

"She what?" Lucky and Nikolas said at the same time.

"Oh yeah," Britt laughed. "Huge scene. Wish I could say I was exaggerating. She did it in front of Robin and the new nurse Amy, so the entire staff knows she's batshit."

"Who?" Sam asked as she walked up to the group. "What happened?"

"Elizabeth confessed her love for Jason, again, and then kissed him earlier. He was pissed," Britt said and Nikolas groaned. He knew Britt wasn't one to hold back, but had hoped for once she would. Britt saw Nikolas' face and grimaced. "Should I have waited to tell her?"

"It's fine," Sam said calmly. "Jason and Danny are sleeping. I'm assuming you were here to question him about what happened."

"Yeah, but I can stick around," Lucky said, pulling Sam in for a hug. "How are you doing?"

"Better than expected, actually," Sam said with a smile. "He remembers me, and that's all I was worried about. We'll go home tomorrow and things can get back to normal."

"I'm glad," he said as he let her go.

"What do you and Dante think happened?"

"There was no signs that a car ran him off the road, so it's possible he either just crashed or his bike was tampered with that made him crash."

"Either is possible," Sam said with a frown. "Lucas said when he woke up at first he had an awful headache that caused him so much pain they gave him pain killers. That could have happened while he was riding."

"I was hoping to check the hospital's security footage to cover all the bases."

"I actually texted Spinelli earlier and he's on his way, so he can help with that. He should be here any minute," Sam said. "When he wakes up, I can let you know. I just don't want to bother him."

"No, I understand."

"How's Emily doing? I feel bad Robin left to come back here."

"She's fine," Nikolas said. "Hayden is with her, they get along well which is good. Robin needed to be here."

"I know I've been out of town for a while, but who is Hayden and Emily?" Britt asked.

"Uh, well Emily is a very long story that I'll fill you in on during my next appointment, but she's Monica's daughter," Sam explained. "Hayden is Nikolas' wife."

"Oh," Britt said, running her hand through her hair. She knew it was a long shot for Nikolas to ever take her back, and him being polite to her during all this was a surprise, but she didn't expect him to be married.

"Ex-wife, actually," Nikolas said awkwardly. "Decided we were better off as friends."

"The Jackal reporting for duty," Spinelli said as he ran over to the group, interrupting the awkward moment that was happening. "Have I disrupted anything?"

"Not at all," Lucky said, smirking at Nikolas' discomfort. "I need you to get into the security footage and go to the garage cameras. I need to know if anyone was near Jason's bike was he was here."

"Absolutely, and I will get right to that once I know that Stone Cold is okay and the McCall to my Jackal is also okay," Spinelli said, walking over to Sam.

"Everything is good," Sam said as she hugged him.

"May I make a quick observation before I begin by P.I. duties?" he asked and Sam nodded. They walked over to Jason's room and were surprised to find he wasn't alone.

"Get out," Sam said, her voice deadly.

"I'm just checking on him. He has a head injury, he shouldn't be left alone," Elizabeth said. She was sitting in the chair Sam was in earlier, holding his hand.

"He's fine, and I've asked you multiple times to stay away from him."

"Because you're threatened by me," she said with a small shrug. "I understand, Jason has always loved me in his own way. You keeping me away from him isn't going to change that."

"No, you just make me uncomfortable and I'm still not over the fact you upset my son so I will ask you one more time to leave before I call security and file a complaint with the board about your behavior," Sam said calmly. "You mean nothing to me or my family, but I won't have you harass us."

"Elizabeth, are you serious right now?" Lucky asked. "Leave them alone."

"I am not bothering anyone," she said.

"Think about this on a practical level. You're being asking to leave by the Chief of Staff's daughter-in-law. You need your job, you have three boys to take care of."

"Yeah, because once again their father is never around because you've been sleeping with your brother's whore wife! Is this payback for what I did?"

"You're way off base with that," Lucky shook his head. "I see the boys almost every day."

"My son is sleeping and he doesn't need to hear you talk like that, so get out," Sam said as she stepped closer to Elizabeth.

"When Jason finally gets his memories back, he's going to resent you for the way you've treated me," she said smugly, but her face dropped when she felt Jason pull his hand from hers and realized he was awake. "Jason, hi."

"Get out," he said coldly.

"You don't mean that."

"Don't make me say it again."

"Come on," Lucky said, pulling Elizabeth out of the room.

"That wasn't a pleasant way to wake up," Jason groaned as he sat up. "I'm not staying here overnight."

"I'll convince Dr. Munro to release you somehow," Sam said.

"It is good to see you are well, old friend," Spinelli said. "Did that blow to the head knock around any old memories?"

"Actually," Jason said and looked at Sam, who nodded. Spinelli was like their first child, Sam didn't want to keep this from him. "I remember everything."

"You do?" Spinelli asked and Sam had to slap her hand over his mouth to keep quiet. "I will assume no one knows this superb news yet?"

"No one except Dr. Munro and Robin. Don't say anything," Sam said half-threateningly. "We want to keep it between us for now."

"You have my vow of silence," Spinelli said, his grin so wide Sam thought his face would split in half. "I cannot express how comforting it is to know Stone Cold has truly returned to us."

"Thanks," Jason said.

"I shall leave you alone to plot your escape plan as I help the Cleft-Chinned Keeper of the Peace discover who tampered with your prized possession."

"What?" Jason asked, not as fluent in Spinelli as he used to be.

"Lucky thinks someone messed with your bike and Spinelli is going to look through the security footage to see if he's right," Sam translated and Jason nodded. "Did you happen to get that headache when you were riding and that caused you to crash?"

"No, something did feel off but I didn't think anything of it," Jason said. "The headache came after."

"I will get to the bottom of this!" Spinelli said dramatically before leaving.

"Is it bad that I was hoping you just crashed on your own," Sam sighed as she lay down next to him. "This just adds to the mess we've gotten ourselves into."

"I know," he said, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "I'm not worrying about it now. My main focus is getting out of this hospital."

"Of course it is," Robin said with a knowing smirk. "I'd try to convince you to stay, but Nikolas told me what happened and I think Sam can take care of you at home."

"Really? You're making it that easy?" Jason said.

"I'll be over in the morning to check on you, and neither me or Sam are believing you when you say you're fine until we know for sure."

"That works," Sam nodded. "What do we need sign?"

"Just the release forms, which are right here," Robin said as she handed Sam the clipboard she was holding. "If the headache comes back, call the hospital right away."

"I will," Jason said as he signed the forms.

"Will you really?"

"Such little faith," Jason sighed.

"No, she just knows you," Sam laughed as she picked up Danny, who was still sleeping. "I'll be outside while you get dressed."

"Did he say anything about what happened?" Lucky asked when Sam walked over to them.

"He said his bike felt off but didn't think anything of it, but the headaches came after he crashed. Did you find anything?"

"This system has not been updated in quite some time so it has taken longer than expected to find the precise moment," Spinelli said. "Aha! I think this is it."

"Looks like a woman in scrubs with dark hair was near his bike," Lucky said. "She's careful to keep her face hidden from the camera."

"Wasn't Elizabeth wearing similarly colored attire today?" Spinelli asked.

"You don't think she'd go that far, do you?" Nikolas asked.

"I'm keeping my mouth shut on this, but if she did do anything to cause his accident, I'm not letting it go," Sam said. "This stays between us until we know for sure."

"I don't understand what's happened to her," Lucky sighed.

"She got obsessive over my husband again," Sam said. "It might not be her though."

"Ready to go?" Jason asked as he approached them. "Did you find anything?"

"Looks like a woman sabotaged your bike," Sam said.

"Any idea who?" Jason asked, but already knowing the answer from the looks on all their faces.

"We don't know for sure," Spinelli offered, figuring he was the best person to say that.

"The police can handle it and call us when they know, right Lucky?" Sam said and Lucky nodded. "Great, so let's go home."

* * *

Sam was only half-surprised when she woke up in the morning and found the bed empty. She knew Jason, and he wasn't going to listen to doctor's orders and stay in bed, especially now that his memories were back. She got ready quick and checked on Danny, smiling when she saw he was dressed and ready for the day.

"Did Daddy help you get ready?"

"Yeah, and we had breakfast together!" he said as he ran over to Sam. "He told me not to wake you up, but he said he'd be back soon."

"I think I know where Daddy is, do you want to surprise him?" she said and he nodded. "Good, let's go."

Jason was standing and looking down at the tombstone that marked where Sam's baby was buried. He was upset with himself for not being able to remember his past, but what made him more upset was that he forgot about Baby Lila. He knew Sam didn't like talking about her much, and Sonny briefly brought her up when he went to talk to him, but he had no connection to this child without his memories, which hurt.

"Looks like I haven't lost my touch," Sam said with a small smile as she walked over to him, Danny holding her hand as he walked beside her. "Figured you'd be here."

"I forgot about her," he said quietly, wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders.

"That wasn't your fault, she knows that."

"She brought us together, and I couldn't feel that same connection with her without my memories. I felt it with Danny, but when Lila would get brought up, I didn't."

"Because I didn't tell you everything that happened, all you knew without your memories was that she was Sonny's baby too and you were going to raise her with me, and then she died."

"She's much more than that," he said and Sam nodded. "I wish she was still here with us."

"Me too," Sam said, wiping at her eyes.

"I think she was watching over you two when I couldn't and made sure you were okay," Jason said. "I think she brought me back to you."

"I like that idea," Sam smiled. "She brought us together, it makes sense she'd make sure you found your way back."

"She was never just Sonny's baby to me. She was our baby, and it was the worst moment of my life when I had to tell you she died. And then I wasn't even with you when Danny was born because I was being an idiot."

"You were," she nodded with a smirk. "I was so excited when I found out about Danny because I thought back to being pregnant with Lila and how close we were, but I didn't get that."

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"I know, and it's not entirely your fault. We have a second chance now," Sam said, resting her hands on her stomach.

"I won't screw this up, I promise," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.

"Mommy, isn't that your name?" Danny said, pointing at 'McCall.'

"Yeah, buddy," Sam said, squatting down next to him. "Before I married Daddy, my last name was McCall. That's why Spinelli and I have our job named McCall and Jackal."

"Who's under here?"

"Your big sister," she said, pausing to think of the best way to explain this to him. "She was sick when she was born and she didn't get better so now she watches over us from heaven."

"Like I was sick?"

"No," Jason said. "A different sick. You're all better now, your Mom took good care of you."

"Is the new baby going to be okay?" Danny asked, pointing to Sam's stomach.

"The new baby is going to be perfect, just like you," Sam said, kissing Danny's cheek. He squirmed away and wiped his cheek off.

"Mommy," he whined and Sam laughed.

"Sorry, I just can't help myself," she said, pulling him in and tickling him.

"Daddy, help me," Danny yelled through his laughter. Jason smiled and picked Danny up away from Sam. "Yay, Daddy!"

"I'm not used to him wanting to get away from me," Sam said with a mock-pout. "Looks like I have some competition now."

"Never, you raised him, you win," Jason said. "Thank you, Sam."

"For what?"

"For giving me a family, for letting me know that I can have one," he said. "For raising Danny to be this amazing little boy who is adored by your family and mine."

"I wouldn't want a family with anyone else," she said, rising up on her toes to kiss him. "Thank you for taking me in when I was pregnant and keeping me around after."

"We owe a lot to Lila," Jason said, looking back down at the tombstone. Sam nodded in agreement.

"Mom, Dad, I'm hungry," Danny said, pulling at Sam's dress to get her attention.

"We just ate," Jason said as he picked Danny up. "How are you hungry?"

"I'm a growing boy who needs to be fed," he said with a small nod. "I'm thinking maybe Grandma has food."

"He wants the cookies that Alice promised to make him," Sam said with a knowing smirk. "Am I right?"

"Maybe," he said. "Aunt Tracy says I should never show all my cards, whatever that means. Sounds like the right thing to say."

"No, it's not," Jason laughed. "But we'll give you a pass this time, buddy."

"So Grandma's house?"

"Grandma's house," Jason nodded, taking Sam's hand as they walked out of the cemetery, and vowing to never forget his family again.


	26. XXVI.

"I don't know why I expected that you'd actually listen to your doctors and stay put," Robin said when Jason, Sam and Danny stepped off the elevator.

"I had somewhere I needed to be," he said, unlocking the door and letting Robin in. "Don't blame Sam, I woke up and left before she was up."

"I'm going to Grandma's for cookies!" Danny said happily to Robin.

"Oh, that sounds like so much fun!" Robin said. "I am here, as promised, to check up on you, Jason."

"I feel fine," he groaned as he sat down. "Better than ever, actually."

"Yeah, Robin will be the judge of that," Sam said, leaning over the back of the couch to kiss his cheek. "Robin, do you want anything?"

"No thanks, I'll be quick," she said as she sat down. "Any headaches?"

"Not really."

"And what do you mean by not really?"

"I mean my head is kind of sore, but I did fall off my bike yesterday," Jason said and gave her a look. "Really, I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are, but as someone who has been there through every brain injury you've had, I want to make sure. Call me neurotic," she shrugged.

"You never gave up on me," he said after a moment. "You could have just kept me in that lab, but you left your family to save me."

"I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. When Molly told me that Danny was yours, but that you died thinking he was Franco's, I knew what I had to do," she said, acting as if it was no big deal. "You were there for me when I thought I had no future, I wanted to do the same for you."

"I don't know how to thank you."

"Just be a good father to Danny, and the new baby," Robin smiled. "You never have to thank me, you should know that by now."

"How's Emily doing?" he asked. It was a lot harder knowing she was alive but still believing she was a different person now that his memories were back.

"She's happy she's finally able to leave. I won't know if the treatments work for a few weeks."

"I'm sure they will."

"I hope so," she sighed. "I should get going to head over there. Do you think it would be a good idea to bring Monica with me one day?"

"I think she'd love that," Jason nodded. "I was awful to my family over the years, wasn't I?"

"You were confused, the first accident was rough on everyone. They weren't the most understanding about it all, there were mistakes on both sides," she said. "Things seem better now."

"Thanks to Sam," he said with a smile. "She always wanted me to make amends with them, but it was hard."

"I'm very glad you found her," Robin said sincerely. "She's the only one who's ever really understood you, who never expected you to be someone your not."

"I can't see my life without her," he said simply.

"You won't have to," Robin smiled as she stood up. "You seem to be doing okay, take aspirin for your head. Make sure you call if the headaches get worse."

"Will do," he said, standing up to hug her. "Thank you for always being there."

"Same to you," Robin said before pulling away. Sam headed back downstairs once a Robin and Jason were done talking. "I'll let you know how things go with Emily."

"Oh, so you have a heads up, I told Maxie about Emily being Claudette yesterday," Sam said. "I have no idea what she's going to say to Nathan or when."

"Knowing Maxie she's going to plan some big conversation but end up exploding and blurting it out at the worst time," Robin sighed.

"Might be funny, maybe we'll be around when it happens," Sam said. "When are you heading back to California?"

"Hopefully soon. Kind of funny that I spend more time here now that we've moved away than I have in a while."

"Patrick understands," Sam said, knowing how much he loved Robin.

"I think if I don't come back before the end of the month, he'll come with Emma for a week or two," Robin smiled.

"Well, hopefully you guys can save some vacation days to come back in September when we renew our vows," Sam said with a smile as she walked over to Jason.

"It would mean a lot to the both of us if you guys could make it," Jason said.

"I'll make sure we put the dates in," Robin smiled, genuinely happy for Jason and Sam. "I'll talk to you guys later."

"Can we go to Grandma's now?" Danny asked as he walked down the stairs.

"Yeah, let's go," Jason laughed, picking up his son and carrying him out of the penthouse. Sam smiled as she followed them out, watching her favorite boys interact. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of seeing Danny with his father.

* * *

"Oh, you actually stayed here last night," Elizabeth said as she came downstairs and saw Lucky sitting on the couch with Aiden. "What a surprise."

"Aiden, why don't you tell your brothers if they get dressed, we can get breakfast and go to the park?" Lucky said and Aiden nodded in excitement, jumping off the couch and running upstairs. "I see you're still in a mood today."

"I'm sorry if I'm hurt that I can't help my friend while he's recovering and I have no one to stand up for me."

"Elizabeth, you don't see how crazy you've been acting," he said, no longer sugar coating things for her. "Jason is with Sam, they're married and they love each other. You two tried to date in the past and it didn't work out."

"We were supposed to get married not even a year ago."

"Yeah, and only you and Nikolas knew he was Jason! Jake Doe was under the assumption he has no family looking for him and you let him believe that while Sam grieved for him."

"She was doing just fine without him."

"That doesn't make it okay," he said, not believing she didn't realize how far gone she was. "You put your job in jeopardy yesterday, you realize that right?"

"I've been at that hospital for years, I'd fight it if they fired me for caring about a friend and because his wife can't handle that."

"And you'd lose because you harassed the Chief of Staff's son, you ignored the wishes of a patients wife to not treat him," Lucky said. "Our sons need you."

"That's rich coming from the father who went away for years, only calling every once in a while. Now that you're here, you spend all your time with Nikolas and Hayden, and if Sam calls you go running!"

"That's not true, Elizabeth," he said, shaking his head. "You don't know the full story."

"That's because no one tells me anything! You didn't even want to look into what happened to Jake when he was taken by Helena, I had to convince you, but then I'm the one who gets shut out and treated this way."

"You're being treated this way because of your actions, that's on you. You want to know what's going on? That's fine, but I don't think you can handle it."

"I'm not a delicate flower, Lucky."

"When Nikolas and I went away a few weeks ago, we went to the Cassadine property in Greece since Helena died there. We were hoping to find some documents or something that would lead us to where Jake was held. We found Emily Quartermaine instead."

"Emily's alive," Elizabeth gasped, tears filling her eyes at the thought that her best friend was alive. "She's been with Nikolas this entire time and you didn't think to tell me?"

"Sounding a little hypocritical there, Elizabeth," Lucky warned her and she stopped. "She has no memory of being Emily, she's lived as Claudette for years. She was married to Nathan West, but then divorced when they couldn't have children."

"What does this have to do with Jake?"

"She watched him and the other children," he said and nodded at the look of horror on her face. "Yeah. Helena was collecting children to raise some type of army that wouldn't be able to fight against her conditioning."

"Did she hurt him?"

"No, Emily said he didn't take well to the conditioning. He'd cry for us at night when she locked him away."

"And we thought he was dead," Elizabeth said as she cried.

"We had good reason to think so, we donated his kidneys," Lucky said. "She took him because of my family."

"Funny, because I never let Jason know him when I thought he was his because I thought it would put Jake in danger," Elizabeth said, laughing humorlessly. "So now what?"

"Robin is here to see if she can help get her memories back, but if you see Emily around town, she has no idea who you are."

"Everyone knows before me? You don't think I deserved to know?"

"After everything that you've done, no I didn't," Lucky said honestly. "I'm hoping that the fact that Jake needs his parents more than ever would help you focus on what's important, but I'm worried I was wrong about that."

"I have been here for him through everything! You drop him off and then show up months later because Nikolas called? What about all those times I called? We needed you here, I needed you."

"I know, I'm sorry. I should have come back sooner, but I'm trying to make amends for that and learn from my mistakes. Maybe you should do the same."

"Dad, we're ready to go," Cam said as he ran down the stairs, his brothers right behind him. "Is Mom coming too?"

"If she wants to," Lucky said. "Spending the day as a family would be nice."

"Yeah, please come, Mom," Jake said, taking Elizabeth's hand.

"How can I say no to that?" she said as she smiled down at him. Maybe Lucky was right. She needed to do better for her boys. She just prayed she could do that and hold out hope that Jason would come back to her.

* * *

"Danny, what are you doing?" Sam asked as she watched her son pull a key out of his pocket and open the front door to Quartermaine mansion. "Daniel Edward Morgan, we knock and wait for someone to answer the door, that was rude."

"How did he get a key?" Jason asked and Sam shrugged.

"Hello Morgan family," Alice said as she approached them. "I didn't hear the doorbell."

"That's because our son has a key apparently," Sam said. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Aunt Tracy said all the Quartermaines should have a key to the house and that I'm a Quartermaine," Danny said with a smile. "Dominator!"

"Danny!" she yelled back excitedly. "I have cookies in the oven for you."

"He's been looking forward to these cookies all morning," Jason said as he ruffled Danny's hair. "Is Monica around? I was hoping to talk to her."

"Yeah, I'll let her know you're all here. You can wait in the living room," Alice said.

"I think I need to talk to Tracy," Sam said and Jason laughed.

"I didn't think of all people that Tracy would have a soft spot for my son," Jason said and smiled when he said it.

"Feels good knowing he's yours, doesn't it?" Sam said knowingly.

"I would have loved him either way, but yeah it does," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

"If you all could refrain from having an orgy in my living room, it would be greatly appreciated. This isn't the '60s," Tracy said grumpily as she walked in from the yard.

"What," Sam asked as she turned around and then noticed the couple on the couch. "Oh, awkward."

"Didn't see you guys walk in," Dillon said, his face bright red as he moved off of Kiki.

"You were preoccupied," Jason smirked.

"It's actually my living room," Monica said with a laugh. "Sam, Jason, what brings you two by?"

"Danny wanted cookies, and he has a key to the front door?" Sam asked, glancing over at Tracy.

"Of course he does, he's a Quartermaine," Tracy said matter-of-factly.

"He was supposed to give the key to you, but he must have forgotten," Monica said. "You are more than welcome here anytime."

"Thank you, Monica, that's so sweet," Sam said. "I am going to talk to my cousin about this new development."

"How are you feeling, Jason?" Monica asked.

"Better than ever, actually," he said with a smile. "I remember everything."

"Everything?" Monica asked and he nodded. "Even from before?"

"No," he shook his head sadly. "I think my memories from before the first accident are gone forever, and I'm sorry. I was wrong for how I acted all those years, you and Alan were my parents and just wanted what was best for me."

"We wanted what we thought was best, but we didn't know the new you. We pushed expectations on you and that pushed you away, so you don't have to apologize," she said. "Your father would be proud of you."

"I wouldn't go that far," he shrugged. "I just wish he was here to meet Danny. I'm really glad he's so close with you all."

"Sam made sure of it," Monica said as she glanced over at Sam, who was laughing at an embarrassed Dillon and Kiki. "I'm so glad you finally remember your past."

"Me too," he said. "I'm going to try to do better."

"You don't have to. You're my son, and I will always love you," Monica said as she hugged him. "You've done wonderful over the years, and I'm sorry it took me so long to accept you."

"Grandma! I won!" Danny said as he ran into the living room. "I beat the Dominator!"

"Winner gets all the cookies!" Alice said, winking at Jason as she placed a plate of cookies on the living room table. "Will you all be hanging around for a while? I can make lunch."

"I would love to, but I have to head over to Crimson," Dillon said.

"Yeah, my shift at the MetroCourt starts soon, I should probably be leaving too," Kiki said, taking Dillon's hand as she stood up. "Sam, I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, okay," Sam nodded with a smirk. Jason walked over and sat down on the couch next to her.

"Did you get the information you wanted?"

"Of course I did," she laughed. "They are officially a couple. Started talking at the Nurse's Ball, and things went up from there."

"Does Morgan know?"

"She told him," Sam nodded. "She said he was surprisingly okay with it, but we'll see how that works when he gets released soon."

"Carly still doesn't know I have my memories back," Jason said with a groan. "She's going to flip out that I waited to tell her."

"She'll understand. Want to find her and tell her?" she asked and he nodded. "Monica, is it okay if we leave Danny here for a little while? Do you mind?"

"Not at all, I was actually going to ask if he could stay," she smiled. "Oh, Robin had called me about going to Wyndemere tomorrow with her."

"That's great," Jason said. "Just prepare yourself, it'll be hard because she doesn't remember."

"I've had some experience with that," she said with a sad smile. "I'll see you two later."

* * *

Sam was fighting with herself about whether she should tell Jason about Carly and Franco or wait and see if Carly told her herself. She didn't want Jason to lash out on Carly, but didn't want Carly to get angry with her and think that Jason was never going to find out.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked as he pulled into a spot in the parking garage. "You've been overthinking something this entire car ride."

"Carly's going to be mad at me if I tell you, but you're going to freak out if you find out," Sam said with a sigh. "I can't decide what to do."

"Maybe if you told me, I can help you make that decision," he said with a smirk.

"You can't get mad, especially when you talk to Carly, and you have to pretend like I didn't tell you. Which I know you're not going to do, but at least I tried," she said quickly. "Carly and Franco dated when he showed up to town."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"No, don't do that," Sam said, knowing him well enough that he was going to explode soon. "It all has to do with that tumor. Sonny had him beat up, Alexis found him and brought him to the hospital to see if he was a match when Danny was sick. He had a seizure and woke up and thought he was you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, kissed me and everything, the psycho. We fought, he knocked me out and took Danny. Carly was able to convince him to give Danny back and not throw him off the bridge."

"You really expect me not to get mad after hearing that freak did all that?"

"Yeah?" Sam said sheepishly. "She let him stay at the hotel, and then he fell for her and when he saved Michael from drowning, I think she fell for him too after that. You know how Carly is."

"But Franco? After everything he's done to you? To me?"

"I know," Sam nodded. "It all blew up in her face when Franco found out she was sleeping with Sonny. He proposed to her and at their wedding he revealed that Sonny shot A.J., which devastated Michael."

"I still can't believe Sonny shot A.J.," Jason said, shaking his head. "Robin told me yesterday."

"Things went a little haywire without you here," Sam said, getting out of the car to head up to the restaurant. "Carly and Sonny depended on you a lot, they needed to learn to live without you."

"And you?"

"I was holding on to hope that you were still alive for a long time, it was hard. Carly and Spinelli had to convince me to move on. Spinelli was the hardest to hear that he lost hope. But you're back, and the rest doesn't matter. Things happened, everyone moved on. I just know Carly is going to be waging a battle with herself to tell you or not, so maybe me telling you now helps."

"Maybe," he said. "Let's go tell Carly I'm back."


	27. XXVII.

"Hey, what brings you two by?" Carly asked as they sat down at the bar. "You want a table?"

"No, just came by to see you," Jason said. Sam smiled at Carly as she turned on her seat and looked around the restaurant, noticing that Nathan and Maxie were sitting in the corner.

"Oh how sweet," Carly laughed. "Anything important?"

"I was in an accident yesterday, laid down my bike and hit my head," he said and Carly gasped. "I'm obviously fine, they let me out of the hospital."

"Let or you escaped with Sam's help?"

"They released him into my care," Sam said with smirk.

"Bet that's some care," Carly laughed. "But you're really okay?"

"Better than okay, actually. I remember everything about my past."

"Really?" Carly asked in disbelief. "Everything?"

"Everything," he nodded. "I remember meeting you at Jake's that night and how we instantly connected, and how I'm very glad we stayed friends."

"Despite me barging in all the time and my selfish ways?"

"You've gotten better," he smirked.

"I'd have to agree," Sam chimed in. "Especially now that you don't hate me anymore."

"Which is strange, but I'm not complaining," Jason said and the two women laughed. "Wasn't easy knowing my best friend hated my wife."

"I know, I'm sorry," Carly said with a shrug. "She was the only one who could really take you away from me, I didn't like that. But, I got over it and now we're friends. Get used to it. I can't believe your memories are really back, I've been praying for this for so long."

"Surreal, isn't it?" Sam said with a smile.

"If I knew all it was going to take was another bump on the head, I probably would have pushed him in traffic months ago."

"Nice," Jason said as he shook his head while Carly laughed.

"I'm sorry, I love you, but it's true," she said. "If I had to listen to you talk about yourself like you were some monster one more time, I was going to punch you."

"Hearing everything I've done in the past isn't the greatest when you have no memory," he said. "I remember now that I made my own decisions to work with Sonny, but I can't go back to that."

"No, you lost too much already. Danny needs his father, and so does this new beautiful baby on the way," Carly said and smiled at Sam. "You've done so much good though, Jason. You've protected and loved me and my family, you're loyal to a fault. I'm glad you know it and I don't have to tell you a thousand times a day."

"Me too," he nodded. "I need to tell Michael and Sonny still."

"They're on their way for lunch, if you two want to hang around. We're going to see Morgan after."

"Yeah, that'd be great. Carly, can I talk to you for a minute?" Sam said and Jason went to sit at an empty table. Carly had a feeling what Sam wanted to talk to her about.

"He knows, doesn't he," Carly said, feeling her heart sink into her stomach as Sam nodded.

"I had to tell him, I'm sorry. You can hate me all you want, but I know you wouldn't tell him unless pressed and I didn't want him finding out any other way."

"You're right," Carly said calmly, which surprised Sam. "I made my decision to be with Franco, as bad as a decision it was. It hurt you, and even worse it hurt my son."

"I didn't tell him as like a punishment for you," Sam said quickly. "That wasn't my intentions at all, I just can't lie to him."

"I know," she nodded, moving around the bar to hug Sam. "Saves me the mess of telling him."

"He's back," Sam said with tears in her eyes as she pulled away. "He came back to us."

"He came back to you. I'm sorry I gave up hope and told you to do the same."

"You were looking out for me, no one wanted me to suffer anymore like I was," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I'm gonna hang out here while Jason tells them."

"You sure?" Carly asked and Sam nodded, wanting to give them some space. "Order whatever you want and put it on my tab. I'd say you could probably use a drink, but you have a couple more months until that."

"That will never not be weird," Michael said as he approached Jason with Sonny, watching Sam and Carly laugh over something.

"Yeah, I never thought those two would be friends," Sonny said, shaking Jason's hand. "I don't want to jinx anything."

"It's mind-blowing actually," Jason laughed. "They used to have full-out brawls, and now they're hugging and laughing."

"I've caught them a couple of times having a moment," Michael said and paused. "Do you remember them fighting?"

"I remember everything," he said and Michael and Sonny stared at him in shock. "I had an accident and hit my head, and the memories came back."

"I can't believe it," Michael said, getting emotional as he hugged Jason.

"Yeah, it's a little crazy, but it's real," Jason said. "I'm really proud of the man that you've become. I'm sorry I missed it."

"You're why I'm the person I am today," Michael said quietly. "I wanted to someone you would be proud of."

"And you are," he nodded before turning to Sonny. "I'm sorry I've been so distant, it's been hard to reconcile what I've done with who I am today, especially without my memories. I misunderstood a lot and now I know it was all my own choices."

"I'm just glad you're finally back," Sonny said, moving in to hug him.

"Isn't it great?" Carly said. "Sit down, order some food. I'll leave a chair open for Sam if she eventually wants to come over."

"Did you scare her away?" Michael asked.

"No," Carly rolled her eyes. "She wanted to give us all our time with Jason. She's respectful like that, even though she doesn't have to be."

"How's it feel knowing you're going to have another baby?" Sonny asked.

"It's great," he said with a smile, glancing over at Sam, who was talking to Britt at the bar. "I want to do better by her this time."

"Yeah, make sure of that. Your head was so far up your ass when she was having Danny," Carly said off-handedly, babbling as she tried to keep her mind off Jason knowing about Franco. She didn't realize she stepped into the topic herself.

"Well, certain people ruined that special moment for us," he said as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. She wasn't ready to have this conversation yet with him.

"I know," he said. "We can talk about it later if you want."

"Maybe," she said, wiping at her eyes. "So, food?"

* * *

Sam was sitting at the bar, going through her phone while she waited for Jason to be finished. Michael waved her over to join them, but she shook her head 'no,' wanting them to spend some time together.

"Hey Sam, how's Jason?" Britt asked as she sat down next to her, looking a little rattled.

"He's good, he's over there with Carly, Sonny, and Michael. Are you okay? You look freaked out?"

"Oh it's nothing," Britt said, taking a large sip of the drink she had ordered. "My mother called me and I think she's losing her mind."

"How come?"

"She hasn't been right since Dr. Quartermaine was appointed chief of staff again. She kept muttering about how she needed to make it right before it was too late, how she didn't want to fall from someone's good graces. I'm concerned about what she could do."

"If there's anything I can do to help, let me know," Sam offered.

"That's sweet, thank you. As your doctor, I need you to refrain from any stressful activities."

"As your friend, I'm here if you need me," Sam said with a smile and noticed Britt's eyes get teary.

"That means a lot after everything I've done in this town."

"You're trying to make a change for the better, I respect that," Sam said. "I also notice you still have feelings for Nikolas."

"I messed that up really bad, I don't think I can come back from that," she said sadly.

"I watched Jake Spencer get kidnapped and didn't say anything, and Jason threatened to kill me when he found out," Sam said and Britt looked at her in shock. "We're married with one kid and another on the way."

"How did you two get past that?"

"Took a lot of work, spending time with other people. We were nasty to each other at some points, but we eventually moved past it. I also risked my life to save Jake from a burning building, so that helped too. I learned about myself away from him and became a better, more secure person and I think that helped a lot."

"There's another issue though. Who's Hayden?"

"An extremely long story," she laughed. "She is actually Rachel Berlin and her and Nikolas have had a marriage that could rival the one in The War of the Roses."

"Oh, that's interesting."

"Yeah, well they're on better terms now and sounds like they're divorced," she said as she spun around on the barstool and caught Nathan and Maxie in what looked like a heated conversation. "Question, do you know anything about your brothers ex-wife, Claudette?"

"No, I never heard the name. I only recently found out Nathan is my brother, so I probably won't be much help."

"Thanks anyway," Sam said.

"I'd say you could probably ask him himself, but Maxie looks pissed," Britt said as she looked over at them. "Wonder what that's about?"

"I could think of a few things," she said.

"Well, like the nosy sister I am, I'm going to find out. I'll let you know," Britt said as she took her drink and walked away. Sam laughed as she stood up and headed over to Jason.

"Finally decided to join us," he said as she sat down next to him.

"I just wanted to give you all some time to catch up, I had you to myself yesterday," Sam said. "Everything good?"

"Better than good," Michael said, a huge smile filling his face. "I never thought this would happen."

"Me either," Jason said honestly. "I started coming to terms with not getting my memories back, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had my family; I have Sam and Danny, and another baby on the way. I was happy."

"Bet your happier now that you remember," Carly said.

"Yeah, I remember why you all are so important to me now."

"We should get going soon, hopefully Morgan can leave in a few days and come home," Carly said as she stood up. "Would you two want to come?"

"We have to get Danny from Monica," Jason said and Sam nodded. "Send him our best."

"I will," Carly said, leaning down to hug him. "I'm so glad your back."

"Me too," Jason said. "Sonny, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," Sonny nodded.

"I'll wait for you outside," Sam said, kissing his cheek before leaving.

"What's up?" Sonny asked.

"Last time we spoke, I thought you were going to ask me to come back to work for you and I told you I couldn't because I wasn't that guy anymore. I just wanted to let you know that even though my memories are back, I still can't do that."

"I understand," he nodded.

"I'll be here for you if you need anything, I can be a sounding board, but I can't put Sam through that again. We have Danny now and she's pregnant, it wouldn't be fair of me."

"I respect your decision. I always told you you could walk away," Sonny said, shaking his hand. "I learned how to handle things without you, and Shawn is out of prison and can help me out if I need it. We'll be okay."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to remember our friendship, because you helped me when I was in a bad place. I made assumptions about you and how I started working for you, and I shouldn't have."

"Water under the bridge," Sonny said as they stood up and walked out together. "I'm very happy that you're you again."

"Everything okay?" Sam asked, a little nervous about what Jason had to talk to Sonny about. If he wanted to go back to work for him, she wouldn't stop him but she'd have to make some decisions about their future.

"Everything's great," Jason said, kissing her forehead. "Want to get Danny and bring him to the park?"

"Yeah, I think he'd like that," Sam smiled.

* * *

"Mommy, can I go play on the jungle gym?" Danny asked, running over to Sam and Jason who were sitting on the bench.

"Promise me you'll be careful, and that I can see you," Sam said and Danny nodded before running off again.

"How are you feeling?" Jason asked, resting his hand against Sam's stomach.

"A little tired, but I feel great," she smiled. "Monica invited us over for a Fourth of July party in the yard Monday, I said we'd stop by."

"Sounds good," Jason nodded, noticing that Sam looked anxious. "Ask me."

"Ask you what?"

"What I talked to Sonny about."

"No, no I won't," she shook her head. "Whatever you talked about with Sonny is between the two of you and none of my business. I'm not going to pry, you make your own decisions."

"I told him I still couldn't come back to work for him," Jason said and smiled at the look of surprise on her face. "I have too much to lose, and I already died once. I can't put you through that again, and I won't miss any more time with Danny or seeing this little one grow up."

"Really?" Sam said quietly and he nodded. She leaned in to kiss him, her happiness practically exploding out of her. "I was so nervous you'd go back. I wouldn't stop you, but I don't think I have the same mentality about it like I used to."

"With good reason. I didn't come back to you and Danny, and I won't do that again if I can help it."

"Doesn't Sonny need you?"

"Not like he used to," Jason shrugged. "He understands, and you and our family need me more."

"I love you so much," she whispered, leaning in for another kiss. "Jason Morgan left the mob for me, how about that?"

"Many women have tried, but only one succeeded," he laughed. "I know you'd support my decision either way, so it made it that much easier."

"Mommy, help me on the monkey bars!" Danny yelled as he ran over to them, pulling at Sam's hand to get her up.

"Easy, buddy," Jason said, worried about the baby.

"It's fine," Sam waved him off. "Let's go get you across those monkey bars like a cool kid!"

Jason smiled as he watched them laugh and play together in the playground, very grateful that he gets to have these moments with them. They meant a lot to him without his memories, but with his memories – these times together meant a lot more.

"Looks like Robin and Dr. Munro gave you a clean bill of health," Lucky said as he sat down on the bench. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah," Jason nodded. "Robin checked up on me this morning, but I'm feeling much better. It was just a bump on the head."

"We're still looking into what happened," Lucky said. "Spinelli said he's running facial recognition on the security footage and is hoping that any small detail that we can see on that part can help."

"Good," he nodded. "How's Jake doing?"

"Much better," Lucky smiled. "I've been bringing him to see Dr. Maddox every week and he's started to open up about what happened to him. Having both his parents around I think helps, too."

"I'm glad you stuck around," Jason said. "Cam and Aiden needed you too."

"We're having a family outing today," Lucky said with a smirk.

"How's that going?"

"Uh, well the boys are having fun. Elizabeth keeps looking at her phone like she can't wait to go home," Lucky shrugged. "She's not too happy with me today."

"She'll get over it," Jason said and his eyes widened when he saw her coming over.

"Jason! Are you okay? Why are you out?" Elizabeth asked in concern, hugging him once she was close enough.

"I'm fine. I was released and I'm okay. I'm here with Sam and Danny," he said, not missing her frown.

"I wanted to be there for you in the hospital, but Sam wouldn't let me," she said with a sneer, glaring at Sam, who was walking over toward them with Danny in her arms.

"Elizabeth," Lucky said, his tone warning her to stop.

"No, I think it's ridiculous. I'm his friend! I've known him for years. I have a right to care about his well-being," she shouted in outrage.

"You're right," Jason said, and Sam froze in her tracks. "Thank you for caring."

"You're welcome," Elizabeth said, a smug look crossing her face.

Sam didn't want to hear anymore. She looked at Lucky, who was at a loss for words, and turned around and headed for the car. She knew this was going to happen once his memories came back, she just hoped she was going to be wrong.

"Mommy, where's Daddy?"

"He's going to walk home, baby," she said as she strapped him in his car seat. "He needs the exercise."

* * *

"Fair Samantha! I'm sorry to show up unannounced, but I have interesting news," Spinelli said as he jumped off the couch and took Danny from her arms. "I decided to use my old key, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," she said. "This really isn't a good time."

"You look upset, what's wrong?"

"Let me get Danny in his room, he's a little tired," she said, going to take him back from Spinelli.

"No, you need to relax. I will tuck my young godchild in for naptime," Spinelli said with a smile as he ran upstairs with a giggling Danny.

Sam sighed as she sat down on the couch, resting her hands on her head. She didn't want to deal with this now, it was too soon for this to start again.

"Now, pray tell what has you so bothered," Spinelli said as he sat down next to her, a glass of water in his hand for her.

"Don't you have to tell me something?"

"It can wait. I notice that Stone Cold is not here, is he out?"

"Technically, yeah," she said and groaned when she knew Spinelli wasn't going to let her avoid this. "We went to the park and Elizabeth and Lucky were there. I started walking over to him and she hugged him and then he thanked her for caring about him. Spinelli, he  _thanked_  her after everything she's done!"

"That is surprising."

"The sad thing it's not," she said, letting out a sad laugh. "I've been waiting for this to happen, I just had hoped it would be later on and not days after him getting his memory back. He has always had a soft spot for that manipulative bitch, and I can't sit back and watch her use him again."

"Have you spoken to Stone Cold about this?"

"No, I took the car and drove home. No matter what I say, I will be wrong."

"So what does this mean if Elizabeth tries to lure him away?"

"I will fight for him, she's not getting him back without one, but I will look wrong no matter what I do," Sam said, wiping at her eyes. "If I attack her, she plays the victim."

"I don't doubt Stone Cold's love for you, I think you should talk to him," he said and she nodded.

"I don't want him to think I'm being ridiculous and insecure."

"Well, after what I tell you what I've discovered, I don't believe he would think that," Spinelli said as he pulled out his laptop. "I'm actually having second-thoughts about showing you because you might get more upset than you are already."

"I'm fine, Spinelli," Sam said, rolling her eyes at his overprotectiveness but always appreciating it. "Tell me. Did she tamper with his bike?"

"Alas, no, it was not her. She was the first person I ran the scan on, so I am now looking into other suspects. However, I stumbled across very old footage of her on the roof, burning a piece of paper."

"What year was this?"

"Late 2006, early 2007," Spinelli said as he pulled up the footage. "I zoomed in to see what was on the paper."

"It's Jake's paternity test," Sam said and Spinelli nodded. "Why would she burn it if it said Jason was the father? It came out anyway, so what's the sense in that?"

"I questioned that myself, and also questioned why because in the hospital database it stated that Jason was Jake's father, as well," Spinelli said as he zoomed in on the paper. "It appears that Nurse Webber has known all along that Jake was a young Spencer, and not a young Morgan."

"Then explain the database," Sam said, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

"After burning the test, she went to the computers and logged in to her medical records and made a change. I was not looking for anything suspicious, so I had no reason to think otherwise," Spinelli said.

"I can't believe it," Sam said, leaning back on the couch. "This explains why she freaked out when we ran the new one. She knew this whole time and lied just so she could keep a claim on Jason. That's sick. She used a child as a pawn."

"Unfortunately so," Spinelli nodded. His head turned when he heard the door unlock and saw Jason walk in. "Stone Cold, it is wonderful to see you out and about!"

"Can I talk to Sam?" he asked.

"Of course, I will just be leaving," Spinelli said but Sam stopped him. "Or not?"

"Save me what you found on a disc before you leave, I don't want anything to happen to that," Sam said and Spinelli nodded.

"Already done, Fair Samantha," Spinelli said as he pulled out a CD. "Please call if my services are needed."

"Thank you for listening," Sam said.

"Always," Spinelli said before leaving, turning around and mouthing 'good luck' to Sam.

"Did I not hear you when you said you were leaving with Danny and leaving me at the park?" Jason asked as he sat down, noticing Sam's cold attitude.

"I don't know, you were a little preoccupied," she shrugged. "Does Elizabeth know you have your memories back?"

"No, why would I tell her?"

"After hearing you thanking her for caring about you, I figured you'd tell her you remembered every lovely moment with her too," she said angrily, moving to stand up but Jason stopped her. "Jason, I'm really tired."

"I wasn't going to cause a scene in the park. What was going to say?"

"How about nothing at all?"

"She was my friend at one point, Sam."

"I knew this was going to happen," she said, shaking her head.

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't seem to get through your thick skull that Elizabeth is not this sweet person who cares about you, she's a manipulative bitch who only wants to keep you when she can't have you! She's gotten in between us so many times and you've just let her get away with it. I was hoping after she lied about your identity and only slept with you when she knew you were Jason would be the last straw, but I guess I was wrong."

"I know who she is," Jason said. "She lied to you about Danny being yours, she changed the DNA results to say he was Tea Delgado's son instead of yours."

"Yeah, and that's not the first time she's done that," Sam said, waving the CD in his face. "She's known all along that Jake was Lucky's. She burned the paternity test and changed it in the hospital system to you so she could always have some reason to see you. Her being pregnant is what destroyed us, what caused me to self-destruct the way I did. She's toyed with our lives for so long, Jason. Are you really going to continue to let her?"

"No, I'm not," he said, taking her hands in his. "I will never let her get between us again. I'm sorry, you're right. I've always let things slide with her."

"You threatened to kill me when you found out I didn't stop Jake being kidnapped, but you did nothing when you found out she kept my son from me. That she decided another woman deserved to have my son more than I did."

"I know," he said.

"Why?"

"Because my only thought was that I needed to tell you, that I needed to find Danny for you so I can put him back in your arms," he said. "And I regret that day I threatened to kill you, I regretted it once it came out of my mouth but I couldn't let you know that. I was so angry that you would do that to me, because I still loved you."

"You had a funny way of showing it," she scoffed. "Listen, I'm not trying to bring that all up again. We moved past it and we're better for it. All I'm saying is I don't want to repeat history. I won't let her ruin our marriage again like she did last time."

"I won't either, I promise," he said. "She'll pay for what she did to us."

"I want to believe you, but I can't," Sam said sadly. "I'm going to go take a nap upstairs."

"Okay," he nodded, standing up and helping her up. "I love you."

"I know," she said, kissing his cheek before walking away.


	28. XXVIII.

Jason decided to go to Wyndemere with Robin and Monica because he wanted to make sure Monica was okay, and he was pretty sure Sam still wasn't too happy with him. He didn't really think anything of what he said to Elizabeth in the park, other than he wasn't going to call her out in front of her a bunch of kids. He figured it would be better to play along for now until an appropriate time came by, but he understood where Sam was coming from.

"You look lost in thought," Robin said as they walked up to the house. "Everything okay?"

"I upset Sam yesterday by being nice to Elizabeth," Jason said and Robin cringed. "I know."

"She has every right to be upset with you."

"I know," he sighed. "I've had my memories back for three days, give me a break."

"You also have been able to see Elizabeth through a different lens for a lot longer than three days. Don't let your past memories cloud your judgment."

"This is not why we're here," he said, wanting the conversation to end. "Monica, you okay?"

"Just anxious," she said as they waited for someone to answer the door. "Emily has been gone a lot longer than you have. It's not easy."

"Well, just remember she still thinks she's Claudette," Jason said and Monica nodded.

"Come in, she's in the dining room," Nikolas said when he answered the door. "It's good to see you, Monica. I'm sorry if you think I've kept another child from you, that wasn't my intention."

"Thank you for taking care of her," Monica said, taking Nikolas by surprise.

"I'll always take care of Emily, memories or not," Nikolas said sincerely. They walked into the living room and were caught of guard when they saw Lucky and Hayden together. "Really? Again!"

"Sorry," Lucky said sheepishly as he pulled away from Hayden. "Uh, morning everyone."

"While I'm very interested in this story, I should really go check on Emily. Monica," Robin said and they walked into the dining room.

"You two are together?" Jason asked, noticing Hayden's blush.

"Not exactly," she said. "Just hanging out."

"I walked in on them this morning in bed," Nikolas said with a shudder. "I get we're divorced now, but my brother? Really?"

"I'm going to get some coffee. Jason, would you like anything?" Lucky asked, wanting to escape this conversation.

"Uh, yeah, I'll take a cup," he nodded, following Lucky into the kitchen. "Hayden Barnes?"

"I don't know," he said with a laugh. "She's sweet, when you're not on her bad side, and she's easy to talk to. It's nothing, really. We went out drinking last night and one thing led to another."

"I'm sure," Jason smirked as he took the coffee from Lucky. "Guessing Elizabeth has no idea?"

"She'd flip out, she hates Hayden," he said. "She has no say in my life, though. How's Sam doing today?"

"Still pissed," Jason said and Lucky nodded. "I don't know how to fix this."

"She's just worried that Elizabeth is going to get in between you again. Even when we dated, I knew she still loved you. She lost you for years; she doesn't want to lose you again. Can't blame her. Sam's strong, but there's only so much a person can take."

"I know, and I'm not going anywhere. I told her that," he said, his frustration getting the best of him. "It's like I need to publically humiliate Elizabeth for us to be okay again. Don't you think that's a bit much?"

"I want front row seats for when you do that," Hayden said as she walked into the kitchen with Nikolas. "Please, I need to know in advance when the shaming occurs."

"Easy there, Hayden. People might start to think you don't like her," Nikolas said dryly, rolling his eyes at her. "Haven't things blown up in her face enough?"

"Not at all," Hayden scoffed. "She kept Jason's identity a secret so she could keep him to herself. Sam told me about the time in the hospital chapel when she helped reassure her that it was okay to accept Jake Doe's proposal, not knowing he was actually her husband."

"You and Sam are friends?" Nikolas asked.

"Well, kind of."

"God help us all," he shook his head as he leaned against the counter.

"Anyway," Hayden said, ignoring his comment. "The bitch needs to pay. Not even for what she did to Sam, for what she did to you. She kept you from your son and wife, from your mother, from the people who love you. She told you that no one was looking for you, meanwhile they were all living their lives around you. She's a horrible person who needs to be put in her place."

"Thank you for that," he said, glaring at her.

"I don't get it," Hayden said in amazement as she stared at the three men in front of her. "What is it about Elizabeth Webber that makes you all brain dead?"

"She does not make us brain dead," Lucky said but Nikolas couldn't help but agree. "What? You think she does."

"We've all done stupid stuff when it comes to her. It could just be because we've known her for so long."

"I don't know, but I do know my wife is still pissed off at me," Jason said with a sigh. "I'll figure it out."

"In retrospect, I probably should have warned you that Sam was coming up behind you yesterday," Lucky said. "I didn't think you were going to thank Elizabeth for breaking into your hospital room after she was told to stay out."

"Because calling her out on her crazy was going to be great in front of her kids, right?"

"No, but," Lucky tried and stopped when he saw Jason's face. "Okay, you're right."

"Thank you."

"If you keep being nice to that woman, she's going to go a lot further than she is already," Hayden warned Jason. "And Sam isn't going to deal with it."

"Because you know Sam so well," Jason said, getting annoyed at this conversation. "I know Sam, okay. I know her better than anyone."

"Then you better find a way to make this okay, but you know she's not wrong in this situation," Hayden said with a shrug.

"You want to know what's a wrong situation? Finding you and Lucky in bed together this morning!" Nikolas said, changing the subject much to Lucky and Hayden's displeasure.

"It was a one-time, drunk night," Hayden said and Lucky agreed.

"So this morning then?"

"I'm going to check on Monica and Robin," Jason said, leaving the kitchen. He walked into the dining room and sat down at the end of the table. "Good morning, Claudette."

"Morning," she said quietly. "Thank you for coming to check on me."

"You don't have to thank me," he shook his head. "How's it going?"

"She's vaguely remembering places around Port Charles, I've been showing her pictures," Robin said. "Definitely shows improvement, especially since she hasn't gone into town yet."

"I'm sorry I don't remember. Nikolas has told me that I have more connections to this town other than Nathan, and I'm assuming you all are those connections," Emily said. "I do know now that I was held captive and I appreciate what everyone has done to save me."

"We're just glad to have you back," Monica said and Robin nodded in agreement. "If you ever want a change of scenery, you are more than welcome to stay at my house for a couple of days."

"Thank you," she said.

"I have to get back to the hospital, it was lovely meeting you, Claudette," Monica said and went to shake her hand, but was caught by surprise when Emily hugged her.

"I don't know why, but you just seem so familiar," she said quietly.

"Hopefully you'll know why soon enough," Monica said, holding back tears.

"I'll walk you out," Jason said as he followed Monica to the front door. "You didn't tell her you're her mother?"

"No, I didn't. I've learned from past mistakes, Jason," Monica said, giving him a look. "Robin introduced me as Dr. Quartermaine and if I want a relationship with Emily as 'Claudette' then I need it to be on her terms. I won't push myself on her because I'm her mother."

"That's smart," Jason nodded.

"Thank you. What would be smart on your part is if you fixed things with Sam," Monica said knowingly. "You get this strange attitude when you aren't on good terms with her."

"I'm working on it."

"Work faster. The barbeque is in a few days," Monica said as she hugged him.

* * *

"Fair Samantha! What brings you to my humble abode?" Spinelli asked when he let Sam in. "Have you reconciled with Stone Cold?"

"Not exactly," she said. "I didn't make him sleep on the couch, though. That's a good thing."

"Did you make him sleep in the pink room? Because that would be a far worse punishment," Spinelli asked with a smirk, hoping to make Sam laugh.

"No, but I'll remember that for next time," she said, barely cracking a smile which made him frown.

"May I offer some unsolicited advice?" he asked and she nodded. "I think you need to let his momentary lapse of judgment pass for now and see how he reacts during their next encounter."

"I let it go so many times, and look what happened," Sam said, thinking back to how Elizabeth manipulated Jason into thinking she was cheating on him with John McBain. "Jason dying put so much of my life into perspective. I won't let the past repeat itself."

"And I'm not suggesting you should," Spinelli said quickly. "I'm merely proposing that you allow things to take its course and let Stone Cold rectify the situation on his own."

"You really think he will?" Sam asked, doubt filling her voice. "I love him, and I know he loves me, but there is something about Elizabeth Webber that gets to him and he forgets all the horrible things she has done."

"I think you answered your own question with your initial statement," he said simply. "He loves you, and I think that love will outweigh whatever hold Nurse Webber has had on him."

"It hasn't in the past," Sam said sadly.

"Unfortunately, it hasn't. However, we did not get to see how things would have changed after she admitted to changing The Wee One's DNA results to make it seem as if you were not his mother. Jason met his untimely demise shortly after and we were left to deal with the aftermath. Further! He now knows that she has known all along about Jake's paternity. I think the time of reckoning is coming."

"We'll see," she sighed. "I think you're right though. I will let this time slide, for now. He knows I'm upset, there's no point in fighting about it. If he does it again, he'll be moving into the pink room for a while."

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Spinelli smiled.

"Thank you, Spinelli," Sam said and hugged him. "You're always there for me, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I reciprocate those sentiments," Spinelli said. "I wish I had more good news for you, but I'm still running the facial recognition. There are a lot more employees at General Hospital than I anticipated."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Sam said. "I saw Britt yesterday at the MetroCourt and she said her mom called her and she sounded like she was losing it. We know Obrecht is involved in this entire mess, so maybe she tampered with Jason's bike?"

"But for what reason?"

"Maybe she hoped that Jason would lose his memories again, that she could get him back to whoever she's been working for now that Helena is dead and use him as a bargaining chip since she lost her position as chief of staff."

"I will begin that search right now," he said, agreeing with Sam's theory. "What will we do with this information if it turns out to be true?"

"Hand it over to Dante and Lucky, maybe I can talk to Anna and see if she has any connections left within the WSB to figure out what the hell is going on," Sam said. "We're doing it legally, for once."

"How thrilling," Spinelli said.

"Spinelli!" Maxie yelled as she knocked on the door. "I know you're home!"

"Maximista, what's wrong?" he asked, surprised when she threw herself into his arms. "Come sit."

"Hey Maxie," Sam said, shutting the computer and moving it to Spinelli's desk. "Safe to assume to talked to Nathan?"

"I don't know what to do, I'm at a loss," she said with a huff. "I have done some horrible things in my past, so I should not be judging anyone. I think he's still lying to me about something?"

"What happened when you told him you know about Claudette being Emily?"

"He told me he had no idea she was from Port Charles when he came here, that he divorced her because she told him she didn't want to have children and he did. There's just something off because he can't give me a straight story on how they met."

"I think it was arranged," Sam said. "I don't think it was by accident."

"So why would he marry her!"

"It would appear as if the Dashing Detective has yet another secret," Spinelli said. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I love him, I really do, but I'm not loving the person I am right now. I married Matt Hunter just so I didn't have to testify against him, so who am I to judge Nathan for marrying Emily for whatever reason he did. Or Claudette. I don't even know what to call her!"

"It's out in the open, and if he decides to tell you or not, it's something you're going to have to think about," Sam said. "So, since there is nothing we can do about any of our problems right now, I say we go down to Kelly's and get lunch because the baby is hungry."

"You have problems?" Maxie asked, standing up and picking Georgie up out of her playpen.

"Remember how I said I was nervous once Jason got his memories back, he'd have a soft spot for Elizabeth again?"

"Yeah?"

"I think it happened," Sam said.

"Jason has his memories back and neither of you told me!"

"It just happened," Sam rolled her eyes.

"Stone Cold and Fair Samantha wanted to keep it private until all the utmost important people were aware of the reappearance of his past memories," Spinelli said, smiling pridefully as they walked out of his apartment. "I happened to be one of those people."

"Not fair!" Maxie complained.

* * *

"I still don't understand why I wasn't told right away. I spent so much time with you guys," Maxie pouted as they walked into Kelly's. "I should have been told."

"Maxie, he just got them back a couple of days ago," Sam reassured her. "I'm going to grab menus so we can order quick because I need to pick up Danny soon."

"Like you don't have this menu memorized by now," Maxie said and Sam rolled her eyes. She walked up to the counter where only one person was sitting.

"I'm just going to bring these over to the table over there," Sam told the waitress.

"Sam?" someone said her name. She recognized the voice but never thought she'd hear it again. Sam turned and saw the person sitting at the end of the counter was turned in his seat and facing her. She gasped in shock when her brain finally worked through the shock.

"Rafe?


	29. XXIX.

Sam couldn't believe that she was hugging Rafe right now. She wished she could have helped him better before he died, and never imagined that he'd be taken by Helena and would return to Port Charles. He was older looking, looking more like a man than the boy she cared for. But, she could still see a glimmer of the Rafe she knew before the problems started.

"I missed you so much. When I found out what happened, I just wanted you to know you didn't have to keep running," Sam said when they moved away from each other. "Are you okay? Where are you staying? Come, sit and eat with us."

"I don't want to impose," he said, but Sam wasn't listening. "I somehow received a message at the hostel I was staying at asking me to come back to Port Charles. I was a little nervous at first because I thought it was a Cassadine trick to get me back, but I decided to take a chance. This place was home, I missed it."

"We missed you," Sam said.

"'Twas I who sent the correspondence," Spinelli said giddily. "I'm ecstatic to know that it reached its intended target."

"You were looking for me?" Rafe asked and Sam nodded. "After everything I did?"

"People make mistakes, and you've been given a second chance to learn and do better."

"I'm so sorry I let things get so out of hand," he said. "I should have never gotten into drugs, I just felt so lost. I tried finding my uncle when I got here, but I couldn't. Are you still with him?"

"Uh, no we were over when Nina came back," Sam said.

"Right, my memory is fuzzy sometimes," he said quietly. "So, do you know where I could find him?"

"I'm really sorry I have to tell you this, but he's dead," Sam said. "He was killed by Nina's mother so she could get her daughter's money."

"Oh," he said with a small nod. "How long ago?"

"About two years ago."

"Well there goes my plans of staying with him," he said, letting out an awkward laugh.

"You can stay with me," Sam said quickly. "I have a spare bedroom, granted its pink but we can redo it if you'd want."

"No, I'm sure you have your hands full with Danny, I really don't want to bother you. You did so much for me and I didn't appreciate it, you don't have to help me out."

"But I want to, and it's not just me and Danny anymore. Danny's father, my husband who was shot, he came back. He was held captive by Helena Cassadine too."

"Jason Morgan?" Rafe asked and Sam nodded. "No way, he's your husband? Helena was pissed that she lost him. He was some badass enforcer for the mob. He sounded so cool."

"He is pretty cool," Sam smiled proudly. "He doesn't have any part in that anymore, but yeah. He's great, you'll meet him later."

"This is all so weird," Maxie said. "Like, you were dead, Emily was dead, and we figured Jason was dead because he washed away, and now you're all back."

"The Cassadines were messing with things they should have never gotten into. So many kids were brought back only to die again because of their experiments gone wrong."

"That's horrifying," Maxie gasped. "I'm sorry."

"I escaped," he shrugged. "Once Jake left, I took that as my cue to get out of there. I overheard they were taking him back to Port Charles, is he here?"

"Yeah, he's back with his family."

"I'm glad, he went through a lot," Rafe said sadly. "We all did."

"Now that you're back, you can start fresh," Sam said. "I have to pick up Danny from school. Do you want to come?"

"How old is he now?"

"He's four."

"Oh wow," he said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see him."

"You can see him all the time because you'll be staying with us until you get on your feet and figure out what you're doing," Sam said happily as she pulled him out of his chair and hugged him.

Unbeknownst to Sam, Elizabeth was passing by Kelly's and stopped when she saw them. She smirked as she pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures of Sam hugging this mystery man and planned on showing them to Jason. This could be her chance to get him back. She wanted to leave before they saw her, but she wasn't quick enough. Maxie barreled out of Kelly's like the place was on fire and ran right into her.

"Excuse you," Elizabeth said.

"I'd say sorry, but I don't really feel bad," Maxie said with a shrug. "Why do you look like you're lurking around?"

"I was about to pick up lunch for my boys. Maybe if you paid attention to where you were walking."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. Spinelli, Sam, and Rafe walked out and stared with confusion at what was going on. "Ready, Spinelli?"

"Sure," he said, glancing warily at Elizabeth.

"Everything okay out here?" Sam asked, and Maxie and Elizabeth nodded. "Good, let's go get Danny."

"Everything's better than okay," Elizabeth said to herself, her smirk growing as she watched Sam link arms with the man and walk away. "Perfect, even."

* * *

Jason headed straight home after Wyndemere and was surprised not to see Sam, but figured she was picking Danny up from school. Listening to everyone tell him he needed to make things right with Sam was getting exhausted. He knew he did, but he also knew Sam better than they did. Flowers and dinner wasn't going to fix this, and while having a public blowout with Elizabeth would, he knew Sam understood why he couldn't do that. Not yet, anyway.

He wasn't someone who typically acted impulsively, he liked to have a plan and make smart, calculated moves. The one exception was when he threatened Sam's life, but she always had this effect on him that made him throw his usual behaviors to the wind. He hated that he did that to her, to this day he wish he could go back in time and stop himself. He was going to make this right, but it would be on his terms and he'd make sure Elizabeth knew he was done with her.

"Jason! You're home," Sam said in surprise when she opened the door and saw him on the couch. Danny let go of Sam's hand and ran on the couch to tackle his dad. "I have good news."

"What is it?"

"Remember how I told you about Rafe?" she said and he nodded. She moved to the side and revealed the boy who was standing behind her. "He came back to Port Charles."

"Hello Mr. Morgan," Rafe said as he walked into the penthouse. "I heard stories about you, it's very nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Jason said, shaking Rafe's hand. "I'm glad you're here."

"I was hoping, if you don't mind," Sam began to say.

"If he could stay with us?" Jason finished and Sam nodded. "If you think it's a good idea, then it's okay with me."

"We have ground rules, we discussed them," Sam said and looked at Rafe. "He has to enroll in PCU for the fall, he has a curfew, and he's going to get a job to keep him busy."

"Maybe I can talk to Michael, get him doing something at ELQ," Jason offered.

"You don't have to go out of your way, you two are doing a lot by letting me stay here," Rafe said. He knew Sam was worried he'd get back into drugs if he stayed here, but he did not want to go down that path again if he could avoid it. He stayed clean while captive and when he was on the run, so he planned on keeping it that way.

"Well, you might think twice after you see the room we have," Sam said and winced. "It's pink. We can redo it if you want."

"Why is it pink?"

"My ex-wife painted it pink because she loved pink and figured it would bother me, but I don't go in there and don't care much to decorate so it forever stayed the pink room," Jason explained.

"I don't really care," he shrugged. "I have money saved so I'm hoping to dorm in the fall. I took the SAT and graduated from my school when I first came here, but I died. I have no idea how to explain this."

"We'll figure something out," Sam said. "If you need to take the GED, I could help you study."

"Yeah, she's a genius," Jason said, pulling Sam close and kissing her temple. "Is there anything you need?"

"No, but if you don't mind I might go take a nap. I haven't slept on a real bed in a while," Rafe said.

"I'm tired too!" Danny said, jumping off the couch and running over to Rafe. "I think I 'member you."

"Maybe," Rafe smiled. "I remember you when you were a baby. I'm glad we get to hang out again."

"You can bring him up for a nap, he usually just falls right asleep the minute his head hits the pillow. Not much to it," Sam said.

"Really?" Rafe asked, surprised that Sam trusted him with Danny.

"We'll be down here," Sam said. Rafe followed Danny upstairs and watched as he ran into his bedroom. Danny jumped into bed and, like Sam said, was asleep within minutes. Rafe turned and found the pink room across the hall. The color was something else, but he didn't care because he was just so grateful to be home and to be around people who cared again. He wasn't going to screw this up.

"I'm sorry I kind of sprung this on you, but I found him in Kelly's and I had to bring him back here," Sam said and Jason shushed her.

"I'm glad you did. He needs family, and it sounds like you really cared about him."

"I still do. I want him to get better and have a good life. He's been through so much," Sam said as they sat down on the couch. Jason wrapped his arms around Sam, his hands resting on her stomach. "How was Monica today?"

"It went better than expected. She handled it well."

"Good, that must be so difficult for her," Sam said. "Anything else I missed?"

"Lucky and Hayden slept together," Jason said, not usually one to gossip but he knew Sam would want to know.

"No way! That's great, good for Lucky," Sam said.

"You and Hayden are friends?"

"She's nice, I like her," Sam shrugged. "She's funny when she goes on a rant about Elizabeth."

"Yeah, I was on the receiving end of that today," Jason rolled his eyes. "I know I messed up, and I know it's hard for you to believe, but I'm going to make things right."

"You don't have to make things right, Jason," Sam said, moving to face him. "We're fine, I just want us to stay fine. I don't want to have to worry about the next time she talks to you if it'll push us apart, and then the next time after that we get further apart."

"You don't have to worry about that," he said sincerely. "She will never get in between us again. Despite what I say to her or how I act, I will never give her that type of power again. I just want to be smart about this."

"I know," Sam said. "You don't have to explain it to me. I was upset and you know I can't hide things from you."

"That's why we work. I don't have to explain myself to you and you don't have to explain yourself to me. We just know each other. That's why I love you."

"That's the only reason?" she asked, a small smirk forming on her face.

"No," he smiled. "I love how strong and loyal, fearless you are. You're stubborn, you're gorgeous. I love how easy we fit, how right it feels. You just get me, and I never felt that with anyone else."

"I know the feeling," Sam said, wiping away the tears that were in her eyes. "I love you, so much. With you by my side, I know I can get through anything."

"The barbecue is coming up, but maybe after we can do something just the two of us," Jason said and smiled when Sam's face lit up. He would do anything to keep her happy like this. "We've got a full house and it's going to get another addition soon."

"You promise you don't mind Rafe staying here?"

"I promise," he said, kissing her forehead. "Would it matter if I did?"

"No," she smiled. "But I'm glad you're okay with it."

"How long do you think they'll be asleep for?" Jason asked as he shifted so Sam was lying on the couch.

"Hm, I don't know. How fast can you work?" Sam smirked.


	30. XXX.

"Monica, are you sure I can't help with anything else?" Sam asked as she followed her mother-in-law out into the yard, carrying a fruit plate.

Monica was setting up for the Fourth of July barbecue that she invited the entire town to and, while she was nervous something would go wrong, she hoped that for one day everyone could get along and celebrate – because there was a lot to celebrate this year. She finally had her children back, and while one still doesn't remember, it felt nice knowing she wasn't alone anymore. She invited Emily today, hoping it would help with her memories, but Monica was also worried that everyone would be too overbearing.

"What?" Monica asked, getting lost in her thoughts and being pulled back when Sam touched her shoulder.

"I asked if I could help with anything other than bringing out a fruit plate."

"Oh, no, not at all! Relax before everyone comes, we all have it handled here."

"Is everything okay? You seem a little out of it."

"I told Robin if Emily wanted to come she was more than welcome, but now I'm wondering if that was a good idea," she said with a sigh. "I know not many people know yet, so I don't know how she'll react or how everyone else will react."

"She's back, so maybe here will be a good place to let everyone know. I'm sure Nikolas will stay by her side and make sure she's okay."

"You're very accepting of him lately," Monica noted. "I mean, I'm very grateful to him for taking care of my daughter, but I'm surprised you've been so forgiving."

"Well," Sam sighed. "He was wrong lying about Jason and keeping him from me, and from you. He's been trying to make amends, and I just don't have it in me to keep hating people. He's my family, and while I'm still upset over what he did, I have my husband back and Danny has his father. Why stay angry when I have back what I've been missing?"

"That's very wise," Monica said with a smile. "I hope my new grandbaby inherits that trait from you."

"Instead of her father's bullheadedness?" Sam asked with a smirk. "I swear, he has the nerve to call me stubborn, like he isn't worse."

"I've known you for quite some time, and I don't think my son is wrong," Monica said with a laugh. "Is that what you two are having, a girl? Or is it just wishful thinking?"

"Wishful thinking," Sam said wistfully as she rubbed her stomach. "I once had a fantasy about mine and Jason's future when we were stuck in GH when Jerry poisoned the water and I told Jason about it. We had a son named Danny and a daughter named Emily."

"That sounds lovely," Monica said and Sam nodded.

"It was. It would be nice, but as long as the baby is healthy, we don't mind either way," she said. "Now, can I please help?"

"Yes, you can help by getting a nice non-alcoholic drink from the bartender and relaxing on one of the chairs," Monica said and pushed her toward the bar. Sam shook her head, but listened and headed over to the bar that was set up for the night.

"What can I get you, Mrs. Morgan?"

"Hm, I don't know. What do you recommend, Mr. Morgan?" she said with a smirk. "Guess those Jake Doe bartending skills are being put to good use."

"Haha, very funny," he deadpanned. "Monica just wanted me to make sure everything was fully stocked for the actual bartender. However, I will put them to use for my lovely wife. Tequila is out of the question for at least another six months, though."

"Really? I thought that was on the approved drink list."

"How about a virgin pina colada?" Jason said as he pulled out the blender. "Specially made by yours truly."

"That sounds lovely, and makes me want to go to Hawaii," Sam said as she sat down on the bar stool and watched him make the drink. "Can we go soon?"

"Maybe," he said vaguely. "We do have a son and a Rafe living at home with us."

"Speaking of a son and a Rafe, where are they?"

"Danny's riding on his train in the house and Tracy and Rafe are bonding, I think," Jason said as he poured out the drink into a cup. "Are we sure that's really Tracy?"

"Funny," Sam smirked, taking the cup from him. "Monica said she invited everyone, so I'm assuming that means Elizabeth too."

"It'll be okay," Jason said, walking from around the bar to stand in front of her. "We're going to enjoy ourselves tonight, and party, and set off fireworks, and then maybe pass off Danny and Rafe to someone so I can have you all to myself."

"Pass them off?" Sam laughed as Jason stepped in between her legs. "Just like that?"

"Well, no," he said, kissing her forehead. "But it sounded like a good plan."

"It might work," she said, pulling him down for a kiss.

"This is a sight I will never tire of seeing!" Spinelli yelled happily, interrupting their moment. He was walking across the yard with Georgie in his arms, and Maxie and Lulu trailing behind him. "Gracious greetings dear friends!"

"Hey Spinelli," Sam laughed as Jason helped her down. "Hey Maxie, Lulu."

"Maxie told me about your memories being back, that's great," Lulu said. "And also about Nathan's ex-wife being Emily Quartermaine. I can't believe it."

"Yeah, a lot has been going on," Jason said. "Emily might be coming tonight, so just a heads up."

"That's great!" Maxie yelled. "Nathan and Dante are coming after work. How the hell is that going to play out?"

"Uh, we'll see?" Sam said with a shrug. "Have a couple of drinks, have fun with Lulu and don't worry about it."

"I guess Georgie is still young enough that I can leave her with her responsible father and she won't remember me getting drunk for the entire town to see," Maxie said and Lulu nodded. "Cool moms do that right?"

"Sure," Sam said with a laugh. "I wouldn't really know, but go for it."

"I'll keep her out of trouble tonight," Lulu said, rolling her eyes at her friend.

"I do enjoy being considered a responsible father," Spinelli said with a smile as he bounced Georgie in his arms. "It is the most honorable title one could receive."

"Danny's inside with Tracy and Rafe playing with his train set, if you want to bring her inside," Sam offered.

"How is Rafe adjusting to life back in Port Charles?"

"It's only been a couple of days, but I think he's doing okay," Sam said and Jason agreed. "We called the admissions office at PCU to explain the situation, and while we got laughed at by the first few people we spoke to, the last seemed to believe us and was willing to help. Rafe was a pretty good student and his test scores weren't awful, so he's going there in the fall."

"Most excellent! I'm estatic that things are working in his favor," Spinelli said.

"My mother is inside riding around on Danny's train set and laughing. I don't know if I should be concerned or happy," Dillon said as he walked into the yard. "I want to go with happy."

"I think it's confusing for us all," Jason said.

"Is Kiki here with you?" Sam asked and Dillon laughed at her lack of subtly. "What?"

"She's inside talking with her cousin," Dillon said with a shrug. "When she saw him, she looked like she saw a ghost."

"She kind of did," Sam said. "Rafe was another one of Helena's victims, along with Emily, Jason, and Jake."

"That's insane."

"Sam!" Kiki said as she ran out and hugged her. "I can't believe he's back."

"I know, it's great isn't it?" Sam smiled. "I meant to call you, but he just came to town and we've been so busy trying to get him settled. He's going to PCU in the fall."

"He told me, he sounds so excited. I'm so glad he's getting this second chance."

"Yeah, and here's someone else who's getting a second chance," Sam said as she watched Emily walk in with Nikolas and Robin. "Excuse us for a minute."

Sam pulled Jason across the yard to talk to them. Emily already looked a little overwhelmed and Robin and Nikolas both had a strange expression on their faces.

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, noticing what Sam had noticed.

"Uh, yeah," Robin said. "It's strange."

"Jason?" Emily asked and he nodded. "You're my brother."

"Yeah," he said, confused. "I told you that when we first spoke."

"She's getting her memories back," Nikolas said, shaking his head in amazement. "She looks at certain people and starts to remember everything."

"It's the strangest thing. Did your memory come back the same?" Robin asked.

"No, but that sounds like a better way to get it back," Jason said. "Everything just came at once and I was left a little disoriented trying to sort through the new and the old."

"Today will be very interesting then," Sam said and Nikolas let out a laugh. Interesting wasn't the word. "Robin, you did it. Your treatment worked."

"I really can't believe it," she said. "I didn't expect it to be so effective."

"How are you handling this?" Jason asked Emily.

"It's strange, but now I know that you all really were doing the best for me. It's hard because I've been gone for so long and so much has changed. There's a disconnect between what I knew and what I see and know now."

"It'll get better," he said.

"We've been through so much," Emily said, hugging Jason tightly. "Helena almost destroyed us."

"But she didn't, and we're back and stronger for it," he said reassuringly. "Have you spoken to Monica yet?"

"I guess some things haven't changed," Emily said with a small smile as she moved away from him, remembering how Jason stopped calling their parents' mom and dad after his accident. "We just got here, I have to talk to her."

"Now is as good a time as any," Nikolas said when he spotted Monica. "Monica, thank you for the invite. Spencer is on his way with Lucky and the boys in a little bit."

"Good, I'm glad," Monica smiled. "We have so much to celebrate, I wanted everyone to take a break from not getting along and just realize everything we have back. Hello, Claudette. Lovely to meet you again."

"You can call me Emily," Emily said softly. "It's good to see you again, Mom."

"What?" Monica stuttered, totally taken aback by the response.

"Robin's treatment worked," she explained. "When I see people, I remember. You're my mom."

"Is this real?" Monica asked, looking at Robin for validation. Robin nodded and Monica gasped and began to cry as she hugged Emily tightly. "I didn't think this was going to happen. My baby girl is back."

"I am," Emily said, tears in her eyes as well. "You weren't going to tell me you were my mom, were you?"

"I didn't want to push you," Monica said. "I learned my mistakes with Jason and I wasn't going to repeat them. I wanted to get to know the person you had become."

"You still can," Emily said. "A lot has happened over the years."

"Monica, I'm really happy for you," Sam said. "I bet Alan, Edward and Lila are thrilled as well."

"Thank you, Sam," Monica said, wiping at her eyes. "And thank you, Robin. You've saved my children so many times, I will forever be grateful."

"No thanks necessary. I'm glad everything worked out and I could help," she said. "And now I can get back home to Patrick and Emma."

"Well, not yet," Monica said with a knowing smile. At that moment, Danny ran out and crashed in Jason's legs.

"Careful, buddy," Jason said. "If you hit Mommy, she might have fell and that wouldn't be good for the baby."

"Sorry," he said quickly, walking over to Sam and kissing her stomach.

"It's okay, baby," Sam said, running her fingers through his hair as she smiled at the sweet gesture. "What's got so you excited?"

"Emma's here!"

"What?" Sam and Robin said at the same time.

"Yeah!" he nodded excited. "Emma and Patrick are here."

"Danny, you ruined my surprise," Monica said with a laugh.

"Mommy!" Emma yelled as she ran to Robin, Patrick was following behind her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Robin said, squatting down to hug her daughter. "Why are you here?"

"Monica gave us an offer she couldn't refuse," Patrick said as he leaned down to kiss Robin. "Hi everyone, good to see you."

"You've sacrificed spending time with your family to help mine, so the least I could do was fly Patrick and Emma out for the week," Monica said.

"That's incredibly thoughtful," Robin said, wrapping her arms around Patrick and resting her head against his chest.

"Since all the guests are arriving, I should do one more round and make sure everything is ready," Monica said.

"I'll come with you," Emily said, linking arms with Monica as they walked away.

"How are you holding up there, cousin?" Sam asked and Nikolas couldn't help but smile at the nickname.

"Better than this morning. She freaked out when she remembered we were married at one time and just went off on a rant," he said. "I told her what I've done recently."

"I'm impressed," Sam said and even Jason had to agree, but wouldn't show it. "How was that?"

"She wasn't happy, naturally. She doesn't understand."

"I don't think any of us do," Jason said gruffly.

"A lot has happened that none of us can explain," Robin said, stepping in to end this conversation.

"Yeah, about that," Patrick said, looking at Sam, who winced because she figured this was going to happen. "I ran into Rafe Kovich inside helping Alice set up."

"He was another one of Helena's captives," Sam said. "He's got a second chance."

"That's great," Patrick nodded, thinking of Gabriel and how he barely even got a first chance. "Hopefully he doesn't screw it up."

"He won't," Sam said confidently.

"Only time will tell," he said before walking away with Robin.

"I knew that wasn't going to go well," Sam sighed.

"You're not going to worry about it, because we're going to enjoy ourselves, okay?" Jason said, cupping her face with his hands and kissing her forehead.

"You're right, today is supposed to be fun," Sam said with a smile. "Does Jason Morgan do fun?"

"Only with you," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "But we keep it our secret."

"Wouldn't want anyone to think you've gone soft," she smirked.

* * *

Lucky was worried. He's known Elizabeth for a long time, and no matter how many years they've been apart, he still knows her well. She's been very pleased with herself the last few days, and while most people would think she was doing better and moving on, Lucky knew she was up to something, and that made him nervous.

"Boys, don't run around and make a mess," Lucky said.

"Of course we won't, Uncle Lucky. I have to find father and inform him of my arrival," Spencer said.

"Yeah, you should do that," Lucky said with a chuckle, always finding his nephew's way of speaking humorous. It reminded him of Spinelli in a way. "Any day now, Elizabeth."

"I'm coming," she huffed, slipping her phone back in her pocket. She couldn't wait until she saw Jason to tell him Sam was cheating on him. She knew he would be devastated, and she would be there to pick up the pieces.

"Try to be on your best behavior tonight, the entire town is here," Lucky said.

"That's rude. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're up to something, but I don't know what," he said and she schooled her features not to give herself away. "I'm praying for your sake it doesn't involve Jason. If you really need to stir up trouble, argue with Hayden."

"Thank you for your permission," she rolled her eyes as she continued to walk past him.

"I'm serious, Elizabeth," he called out but sighed, knowing it was useless.

"What's wrong?" Lulu asked as she approached her brother.

"She's up to something, and it's just not the time and place for whatever she's plotting."

"Eh, I beg to differ," Lulu shrugged, a smirk crossing her face. "If she's going to make a fool of herself, let it be for everyone to see."

"Have you been hanging out with Hayden, too?"

"No, but I haven't forgotten Elizabeth slept with both of my brothers and broke your heart, so I can't say I'm fond of her."

"I'm just going to pretend I know nothing and we are going to get a drink," he said, wrapping his arm around Lulu's shoulders. "Dante here yet?"

"Not yet. He just called and said he's on his way with Nathan."

"Okay," he nodded. "Let's go put that infamous Spencer tolerance to the test."

* * *

Sam and Jason were sitting on a lounge chair together, laughing and watching Danny play with all the kids. Jason's hands rested on her stomach as he kissed the top of her head. Sam smiled up at him and placed her hands over his. She was so happy to be sitting here in his arms, surrounded by friends and family. She noticed Elizabeth watching them from afar, but she wouldn't let her ruin tonight.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"How this time last year you thought you were Jake Doe and had no one looking for you, and now you know how loved you are by so many people," she smiled.

"I remember thinking how lucky Jason was to be with you, because you loved him so fiercely and would deal with every ounce of pain just to remember your life together."

"Our life together," she corrected him. "I still would. I wouldn't give up my memories of you or us for anything."

"I will never forget again how lucky I really am to have you," he said, kissing her cheek. "Not having my memories and hearing you talk about us gave me such a different perspective on our relationship."

"Safe to assume a good perspective?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "A very good perspective."

"Hello, my beautiful daughter," Alexis said, leaning down to hug Sam. "How are you feeling Jason?"

"Great, thank you," Jason said as he stood up and Sam scooted back on the chair. "Can I get you anything? Sam hasn't really eaten yet and I'm sure her and the baby are hungry."

"I can get food," she said, but he shook his head and made her stay put. "Thank you."

"No, but thank you, Jason," Alexis said. "Isn't he the doting husband today."

"He always is," Sam said with a smile. "Now that you don't hate him anymore you can finally see he's always taken care of me and loved me."

"Your mother just wanted you to be safe, and so do I," Julian said. "But even I have to admit he's good to you."

"Thank you," Sam said. "I've always been safe with him."

"It was really nice of Monica to do all this," Alexis commented as she looked around the yard. "She's done an amazing job."

"She wanted to celebrate," Sam said as she looked around and had to agree. Everyone was enjoying themselves. "I'm glad you guys are here."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," Julian said and Alexis smacked his arm. "What? There are a lot more people here than I thought there would be, things are going to go south eventually."

"Don't be a Debbie Downer, Dad," Sam rolled her eyes. "Everyone can put their differences aside for one night."

"Is he complaining already?" Lucas asked as he walked over to his family. "You haven't even been here for five minutes."

"I am not complaining!"

"He totally is complaining," Sam laughed. She spotted Rafe and called him over. "You guys remember Rafe, right?"

"Yeah," Alexis said and Julian just stared at him. "I'm sorry, I just remember you dying."

"I did," he said with a shrug. "I was held captive too."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "It's really good to see you."

"Come sit," Sam said, moving her legs to make room for Rafe. He sat down and she rested her head on his shoulder briefly, but it didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth. She shook her head in disgust at how Sam was so open about her affair and didn't think twice about how Jason could catch her.

"What's that face about?" Lucky asked as he handed her a drink.

"Just concerned," she said. "You don't have to hang out with me. I don't want your pity."

"I don't pity you," he said. "I'm trying to make sure you stay out of trouble."

"I'm an adult, Lucky. I don't need you babysitting me."

"Yeah, Lucky, she's an adult," Hayden said with a smirk as she walked over to him. "Come play with the big kids over here."

"Since when are you two friends?" Elizabeth asked.

"We've gotten close," Hayden said. "The Cassadine-Spencer brothers are just irresistible, but I don't have to tell you that."

"Okay, let's go," Lucky said, pulling Hayden away before things got worse. "Seriously?"

"I saw an opportunity and I took it. Now, have fun tonight and stop worrying about whatever she's planning."

"I'm not," he tried but she gave her a look. "I don't want her to embarrass herself."

"She needs to, and I'm not just saying that because I don't like her. She needs to learn that you're not going to be there to save her every time she falls."

"Old habits die hard for all of us," he said, looking over at Nikolas who was standing by the bar with Lulu and Maxie

"The two of you have me tonight to make sure those old habits stay dead. Aren't you lucky, Lucky?"

"How drunk are you already?"

"Not as drunk as I need to be," she said, scooting next to Nikolas. "Hello ex-husband."

"Hello ex-wife," he sighed. "What would you like now?"

"Hm," she said, thinking as she tapped her chin with her finger. "Surprise me."

"How is everything going over here?" Emily asked as she walked over to them. "It's nice to see you again, Lulu. You too, Maxie."

"I can't believe it," Maxie said as she stared at her. "Wait, how do you know who I am?"

"Memories are coming back," Nikolas explained simply, knowing Emily has been explaining herself all night, as he handed the drinks to both of his ex-wives.

"Oh, even better," Maxie said. "My fiancé is your ex-husband."

"You're engaged to Nathan?" Emily asked in surprise and Maxie nodded. "Congratulations, you're a very lucky woman. Nathan was great."

"I know he is."

"You both can tell him how great he is because he's on his way over," Lulu said, smiling as Dante and Nathan approached them. "You two finally made it!"

"You'd think with everyone here tonight, we would have gotten out earlier," Dante said, leaning in to kiss Lulu hello. He looked over and smiled at Emily. "Hi, I'm Dante Falconeri."

"Emily Quartermaine," she said, shaking his head. She turned to Nathan, who couldn't stop staring at her. "I went by Claudette for a while, though. It's nice to see you again, Nathan."

"Uh, yeah," he said, breaking from his stupor. "How is it possible that you're here? You've been missing for years."

"Nikolas and Lucky found me," she said, not wanting to get into the details right now. "I had no memories of who I really was when we were together, but now I do. I wish you the very best with Maxie, she's lovely."

"Thank you," he said, and Maxie wrapped her arms around him.

"Let's walk around!" Maxie said happily as she took Nathan by the hand and dragged him away, getting nervous how he was looking at Emily.

"That went smoother than expected," Nikolas said and Emily nodded in agreement.

"Hopefully that's a good omen for tonight," Lucky said.

"I hope not," Hayden said, letting out a laugh.

"I don't even want to know," Nikolas said. "She looks way too pleased with herself."

"She's not the only one," Lucky sighed.

* * *

"Jason, can I talk to you for a moment? It's important," Elizabeth said, seizing her opportunity when she noticed Jason was alone and Sam was talking with her sisters.

"What is it?" he sighed, not wanting to deal with her tonight.

"I don't know how to tell you this," she said, trying to sound sympathetic. "I was going into Kelly's the other day, and I saw Sam with Spinelli and Maxie."

"This isn't important."

"No, but it is," she said, handing him her phone to show him the pictures. "It looked like a double date, I'm so sorry."

Jason took the phone and looked at the pictures. They were of Sam, Maxie, Spinelli, and Rafe. They must have been taken the day Sam found him. Jason closed his eyes and tried to control his anger, which Elizabeth mistakenly took as a good sign. He couldn't believe she was pulling this again, trying to feed him lies that Sam was being unfaithful. He knew he needed to set her straight, but he really did not want to do it front of everyone. This was what he wanted to avoid.

"Mom, look!" Jake said excitedly as he ran over with Rafe. Jason hid his smirk, hoping that Elizabeth would embarrass herself before he needed to do it for her.

"Honey, what did I say about talking to strangers," Elizabeth said, pulling Jake away from Rafe. He frowned and moved back next to him. "Sir, I don't know who you are, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk to my son."

"What's going on here?" Sam said, noticing Jason and Elizabeth off to the side.

"I think it's disgusting how you act like this is okay," Elizabeth snapped, loud enough to draw attention to them. "You're pregnant with this wonderful man's child and you have the nerve to treat him this way."

"I'm so confused," Sam said, looking at Jason who looked very pleased right now.

"Just let it play out," he whispered.

"You have some set to bring your new boyfriend around your friends and family, and to be so open with your affection for each other," Elizabeth said, gesturing between Rafe and Sam.

"Oh, you have it so wrong," Sam said with a laugh. "Seriously? You're doing this again?"

"Yeah," Jason nodded. "She is."

"Ms. Webber, I'm a friend of Jake's," Rafe tried, not knowing the best way to put it, he went to continue but Elizabeth cut him off.

"If you think I'm going to let my son be friends with you, this tramp's lover," she spat, pointing at Sam. "You have another thing coming."

"That's great to say that around Jake," Sam deadpanned.

"Mom!" Jake yelled. "Rafe was with me when I was taken! He helped me, he's my friend!"

"What?" Elizabeth said. "No, sweetheart, he's not."

"Yes, he is," Sam said. "This is Rafe Kovich, the nephew of Silas Clay. Helena took him and brought him back to life, and he escaped and came back."

"But I saw you," she stammered.

"You saw me excited to see the boy I cared for, and you took pictures of me enjoying lunch with my friends and telling Rafe he would have a home here with Jason and I," Sam said, throwing Elizabeth's phone at her.

"I don't understand."

"Maybe if you weren't so quick to play the victim and paint my wife as this horrible person, you'd see it was the other way around," Jason said.

"Should we do something?" Dante asked Nikolas and Lucky, who both shook their heads 'no.'

"I knew this was coming all day, I tried to warn her," Lucky said as he knocked back his drink.

"Best if we stay out of it," Nikolas agreed.

"Jason, please. I was just looking out for your best interest. She doesn't love you like I do. I know you don't remember, but I've loved you for so long."

"No, I do remember, I remember everything," he said and her face lit up, hope filling her eyes. "I remember how you only 'loved' me when it was convenient for you. I remember how you turned on me for Ric, how you lied to me for years."

"I never lied," she said desperately.

"Never? What about when you lied about Danny being Sam's son? Because you wanted it to be our time, because you wanted revenge for when she watched Jake get kidnapped. You didn't do it avenge Jake, you did it to keep me. But it didn't work, because my heart always belonged to Sam. It always will."

"She's made you think I'm this terrible person, but I'm not."

"I haven't made him think anything," Sam said, stepping forward. "Jason just said he remembers. He remembers how you took advantage of our broken relationship when I thought I was raped by Franco, how you tried to push us further apart by feeding him lies about me and John McBain. You've only been with Jason because of the lies you fed him, but not anymore."

"Our relationship was beautiful, it was real."

"No, no it wasn't," Sam said. "You knew all along that Jake was really Lucky's. You burnt the paternity test on the hospital roof and then changed it in the system to say he was Jason's. That's why you reacted the way you did when Jason and Lucky had another paternity test done, because you knew you would be exposed."

"That's not true," Elizabeth yelled defensively. "Jason and I spent that night together and it was amazing and I felt that he loved me, and in my heart I knew he was Jake's father."

"I only answered the door because I thought you were Sam," he said quietly. "I was so drunk I didn't realize what you were doing."

"You don't mean that," she said, tears spilling from her eyes.

"But I do," he nodded. "You will never hurt my family again, or try to get in between Sam and me. I know who you are now, and I will never forget it."

"Is that a threat?"

"No," he said simply. "I don't care enough to threaten you. You mean nothing to me. I'm sorry you had to do this in front of everyone, but you brought this on yourself. I didn't want it to happen this way, but enough is enough. Maybe you should go home."

"You tell her, Jason!" Carly cheered and started to clap as Elizabeth stormed out of the yard. "This was probably the best event of the evening."

"Carly," Jason said with a sigh, but knew she wasn't going to stop.

"No, she got what she had coming to her," Carly said. "I have told you for years what type of person she was, and I'm just so glad you can finally see it."

"This was better than I imagined," Hayden said with a laugh. "Great show."

"Guys," Sam said, trying to get them to stop. She didn't want Jason to feel guilty about what happened.

"I got that all on video, it could go viral," Kristina said with a smirk, Morgan shaking his head behind her.

"Krissy, no," Sam said as she grabbed her phone. "Don't do that."

"I wouldn't, unless she did something really awful again," she said, taking her phone back. "Relax, sister dearest."

"Mommy, when are the fireworks happening?" Danny asked, pulling at the hem of her dress.

"Soon, buddy."

"Hey Danny, I'm staying by Grandma's tonight," Kristina said, squatting down to his level. "Want to have a sleepover?"

"Yeah!" Danny yelled excitedly, jumping into her arms.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Absolutely," Kristina nodded as she stood back up. "Kiki told me Rafe was going to stay with her so they could catch up, so you two can have the night to yourselves."

"Aunt Krissy," Danny said impatiently, pulling at her hand. "Fireworks!"

"Let's go get good spots for the show. I think Uncle Michael can hook us up, what do you think?"

"Let's go," Danny said eagerly, taking Morgan's hand as well and pulling them across the yard.

"Maybe Michael can hook us up with good spots too," Jason said, pulling Sam close. "And then we can go home."

"Sounds like a good plan," Sam said, leaning up to kiss him.

* * *

Jason and Sam walked into the penthouse in silence. He had really spoken in the car ride home, either. Sam was used to his silence, was almost comforted by it most of the time, but she didn't know what to expect after everything that happened tonight. Jason sat down on the couch and held his arms open for Sam to sit in his lap. She cuddled into his chest, smiling as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and they sat there for a while like that, just holding each other.

"What's going through that brain of yours?" she asked, finally breaking the silence as she moved to look at him.

"I didn't expect tonight to happen," he said. "I wanted to avoid the public humiliation. Her kids were there, the entire town was there."

"I know, but she brought it on herself," Sam said, trying to reassure him. "She didn't have to make assumptions about Rafe, she could have approached you on a different day, but she chose to do it tonight. She wanted to make me look like a fool and it backfired. Don't feel guilty over this."

"I don't," he said and Sam looked at him skeptically. "Really, I don't feel guilty. She deserved it. You're right, she tried to make you look like a fool and that is unacceptable. Nobody does that to you. I promised you I wouldn't let her get in between us again or hurt our family. I intend on keeping that promise."

"I know, baby," Sam said, resting her head on his chest. "I wish she didn't have to do it like that, either. Tonight was supposed to be a night without drama, where everyone could celebrate what we have."

"I think it was successful. I have my wife, my son, a baby on the way," Jason said, pressing a kiss against her temple. "I'm not in the dark about who I am anymore, or who other people truly are. As much as I hate losing over a year of my life, and our life, I can see the silver lining from it."

"Which is?"

"I wasn't blinded by my loyalty to certain people. I found my way back to the people who were always truly important to me, and I was able to cut people out of my life who I should have a long time ago. I thought Elizabeth was my friend, and I just ignored what others had to say about her because I thought I knew her. I was wrong."

"I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I'm not," Sam said and Jason couldn't help but laugh. "Really, even in the subtlest ways she has tried to get between us. Look at all the times she came here after Jake died. I'm not saying she wasn't grieving and that she had no right to come here, but she had Lucky and Nikolas to turn to. The way she reacted when she saw me here, and we both know she told Carly out of spite. I think that night she came here and found out we were engaged she had other plans until she saw the ring."

"You mean the nut."

"I loved it," Sam said. "I don't want to think about her anymore. As long as you're okay with everything that happened, we can finally move on and not have to worry what she's going to do next."

"You really think she's going to let it go that easily?"

"For her own sake, I hope so," Sam said.

"Me too," he nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay, that's a silly question," she smirked, moving so she was straddling him on the couch. "We haven't been alone in days. It's kind of nice."

"What should we do with this alone time?" Jason asked, his hands rested on her hips.

"Want to know what I really want to do?" she said, leaving kisses along his neck.

"I have an idea or two," he said, his hands moving to her butt.

"Dance with me," she whispered in his ear and laughed when he groaned. "Please?"

"Seriously?"

"I am always serious," she said with a pout as she stood up. "We have all night together, and all day too."

"Since I know how much it means to you," he said with a heavy sigh as he stood up and took her in his arms. "As long as I get to hold you, I'm happy."

"You'll be happy forever then, because I never want you to let go."


	31. XXXI.

"Good morning, sunshine," Nikolas said as he watched Hayden stumble into the kitchen. "Rough night?"

"Shut up," she mumbled. "Lulu and Maxie are crazy."

"I tried to warn you," he said, pointing to the coffee pot.

"I don't have many friends, I couldn't say no," she said, nodding in thanks as she pulled a mug from the cabinets.

"Speaking of friends, did you and your friend Lucky have another one-night 'thing' last night?" Nikokas asked with a smirk.

"No, because that was a one time thing," she said, sighing as she sipped the coffee. "Why are you even asking me that? It's weird."

"Just trying to prepare myself for what I'm in for while you two are still living here."

"Like I said, I don't have many friends. I'm not trying to mess anything up," she said with a shrug. "Did you have fun last night?"

"Spent most of my time making sure Emily didn't feel uncomfortable. Helps now that her memories are back, but people in this town like to know each others business," he said with a shrug.

"Highlight of my night was Elizabeth humiliating herself," Hayden said with a chuckle. "She self-destructed real quick."

"That was unfortunate," he sighed.

"I'm glad you and Lucky didn't step in to save her. It's gone on long enough from what I've heard."

"I'm glad you're glad," Emily said angrily as she walked into kitchen. "I think it was awful what happened to Elizabeth."

"She got what was coming to her."

"You've been kind to me while I've been here, and I appreciate it, but I've known Elizabeth for years. She was my best friend. I can't believe everyone just stood around and let her be treated like that. I can't believe my _brother_ would speak to her like that."

"I thought Jason was rather civil after everything she's done to him and Sam," Nikolas said with a shrug, noticing that Emily was now a bit of a hybrid of her personality as Claudette and her old self. "Em, we've told you what happened."

"I'm sure it was a misunderstanding. Regardless, you allowed the whole town to watch as Elizabeth went through that. The Nikolas I knew would never do that."

"I can't come to her rescue anymore. I've hurt too many people I care about trying to help her, only to be left hanging and alone by her."

"It's clear I don't like her, with good reason. She hasn't been very nice to me," Hayden said, trying to help Nikolas. "From what I've seen since I've been here, she's not the same Elizabeth you used to know. A lot has changed since you've been gone, and I think you need to understand the big picture before you go blaming Nikolas and Jason for actually doing Elizabeth a favor and not stepping in to save her. She needs to learn to take care of herself. It's 2016."

"Really?" Emily said, looking to Nikolas for help but he just shrugged and sipped his coffee.

"Everything okay?" Lucky asked as he walked in.

"No! Lucky, how could things get so out of hand last night with Elizabeth?"

"Em," Lucky sighed. "She's changed a lot. Things have been tough, especially these last few months. Jason's return, finding out Jake is really my son, and just everything else in the past. It took a toll on her."

"Maybe if she felt like she had friends to turn to," Emily tried but Nikolas shook his head.

"I've been here this entire time, and if anything friends made it worse. There's only so much you can do for her."

"I don't agree with that," Emily shook her head. "I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?" Nikolas asked, standing up.

"To get more answers," she said, storming out of the kitchen.

"What the hell does that mean?" Lucky asked.

"She's going to talk to Jason," Nikolas sighed, following after her.

* * *

Sam woke up and smiled when she realized Jason was still asleep, his arms wrapped around her as he snored peacefully beside her. This was something she still wasn't fully used to – a relaxed Jason. Usually he'd be up at the crack of dawn and already would have done a ton of things for Sonny and Bernie. Tense was his norm, and Sam had gotten so used to that she'd get nervous when he was actually calm and relaxed for a moment. She loved this side of him, though. It reminded her of their honeymoon, how relaxed he was and how much fun they had. Of course, it was ruined by Franco but she tries to focus on the positives, and there were many of those.

She turned in his arms and rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and reassuring herself that he was really here with her, that this wasn't one of her dreams that she'd wake up from and have to face the day alone. He's been back with her for months and she still worried the other shoe will drop and he'd be taken from her.

"I know you're awake," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "What are you thinking about?"

"You," she said quietly, pressing a kiss against his chest. "How I'm not used to you sleeping so soundly."

"I think I've been sleeping pretty well these past few months, especially when you wear me out," he smirked, shifting so she was sitting on top of him. "And you wear me out often."

"I could say the same about you," she smiled. "It's still strange, especially now that you're really you again. You have different quirks, but I like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I get to know you all over again," she said.

"You've changed too, you know."

"For the better, I hope."

"You've always been perfect to me," he said, moving her hair away from her face. "Being a mother suits you, I always knew it would. I'm glad I'm finally here to see it."

"Me too," she said, trying not to cry. "Danny adores you, like I always knew he would. And we have this little one on the way who will have her daddy wrapped around her little finger in a heartbeat."

"Just like her mommy," Jason said, resting his hands on her stomach. "Hoping for a girl?"

"Maybe," she said, shrugging slightly. "I just want a healthy baby that I can give birth to in a hospital and not in a rainstorm by myself."

"I promise that won't happen," he said seriously, thinking back to the mess he caused that night. "I will be by your side the entire time."

"I know," she said, leaning down to kiss him. "I'm not letting you go anywhere."

"So, what's on the plan for today?" he said, hoping her answer would be to stay in bed as he watched the sheet drop lower on her body.

"Maybe do some vow renewal planning," she suggested and smirked as his disappointed expression. "You got out of some planning when you were in the hospital, time to make up for that."

"Fine," he sighed, sitting up in bed. "Whatever you want, I'm okay with."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Whatever is going to make you happy, then I'm happy. I just want you."

"While that's sweet and all, I would like some of your input," she said, rolling her eyes at his attempt to sweet talk his way out of this. "I still have that pink tux on hold that I think you should wear."

"Pink?"

"Pink," she said. "Hot pink."

"You wouldn't."

"But I would," she shrugged as she moved off him and got out of bed. "Maybe we can discuss it in the shower."

"I'm all for that discussion," he said, jumping out of bed and scooping her into his arms, her laughter echoing throughout the penthouse.

* * *

"So, we already have the date set and I spoke to Robert Yi about the ceremony, and he said we can either have it at the restaurant or somewhere else," Sam said, looking up from her plate and noticing Jason wasn't fully listening. "Jason!"

"Sorry, I'm listening," he said.

"No, you're watching me eat."

"Just amazed at how a tiny thing like you can eat so much," he said with a smirk.

"I am eating for two now," she said, tossing her napkin at him. "Now, where do you want to have the ceremony?"

"I think we should have it at the restaurant. It's our place," he said and smiled when he saw Sam's face light up. "Did I say the right thing?"

"You always do," she said, leaning over to kiss him. "Hopefully Maxie can help me find a dress, we only have a little over two months."

"We could keep things the same as our wedding and wear jeans and t-shirts," Jason said, hoping to get out of wearing a tux.

"We could," she said with a nod. "My mom might pass out if she sees that, though."

"I would like to see you in a white dress, walking down the aisle looking beautiful as usual," he said, pulling her into his lap. "But whatever you want."

"I like the sound of that," she said. "And as I'm walking down the aisle, I see you standing there waiting in that hot pink tux."

"Sam," he groaned as she laughed. "You're worrying me. I'm starting to think I'm going to find a hot pink tux in a closet somewhere. I don't really want to wear a tux at all, let alone a pink one."

"So little faith," she said with a smirk. "You seemed okay with wearing a tux when you thought you were marrying Elizabeth."

"Yeah, because I had no memory of my aversion to them, along with my aversion to other things," he said, shaking his head at the change of topic. "I was thinking we could go back to the discussion we were having in the shower. I really liked that discussion."

"Me too, but we can pick up on that discussion later," she said, kissing his cheek as she stood up and started cleaning off the table.

"You promise?" he called out and she laughed. Jason was about to follow her into the kitchen when someone knocked on the door. He thought about ignoring it, but the knocking became incessant and then someone started yelling his name. He rolled his eyes as he stood up and answered the door.

"Did you really have to embarrass her last night, Jason?" Emily asked as she stormed into the penthouse, Nikolas following behind her. Sam came out from the kitchen and was confused by what was going on.

"I tried to stop her, she was hellbent on coming here," Nikolas said with a sigh as he walked over to Sam. "She's confused."

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked.

"Elizabeth! She ran off mortified by how you treated her. What happened to you? You would never treat a woman that way."

"Oh God," Sam groaned, not expecting this today. "Is she serious?"

"In her defense, she died siding with Elizabeth, they were best friends. But yeah, she's serious. I had an earful this morning and I'm only here to make sure things didn't get out of hand."

"Jason wouldn't hurt his sister."

"I know, I wanted to make sure she didn't hurt him," he said and Sam scoffed. "Or you and the baby."

"This is Emily were talking about."

"Who lived as Claudette for years and threw large objects at my head when we found her."

"Emily, it's not that simple," Jason tried and Emily threw her arms up in disgust. "She brought it on herself."

"That's a cop out, Jason. I understand you're with Sam now and you two have a family, but at one point Elizabeth was your friend. She is my friend as well, and I hate to see that my brother is treating my friend like this."

"What about what your friend did to your brother?" Sam said, having enough of this. Her and Emily were on okay terms before she died, it didn't help that she picked Elizabeth's side but it was expected. She wasn't going to let Jason think what he did was wrong.

"She knew who I was when I had amnesia," Jason said.

"So did Nikolas, and I don't see you embarrassing him in public."

"Nikolas has paid for his part in all this," Sam said and Nikolas shrugged. "Nikolas also didn't try to marry Jason while he was still married to me."

"No I did not," Nikolas said. "I just kept his identity secret to keep ELQ, which I lost anyway so it was all really pointless."

"I would have flashes of my past with Sam, and I would tell Elizabeth about them because at the time I thought loved her and thought she cared about me," Jason said. "She told me no one was looking for me and I shouldn't think twice about what were my memories coming back to me. She watched as I would see Danny and never wanted me to know he was my son."

"I just don't understand why," Emily said.

"Because she's had this obsession with Jason for years. She lied about Jake being his, she's known Jake was Lucky's the entire time. Lucky is a fantastic father and she let him believe he wasn't Jake's dad for years just so she could have a claim on Jason still."

"She also got in between Sam and me during a really rough time in our relationship, and changed the DNA results on Danny's test to make it seem as if Sam wasn't his mother because there was a baby swap done by Heather Webber," Jason said. Emily had to sit down to process all the information they were throwing at her. "Elizabeth made it seem that Sam was having an affair with this new cop in town and she caused a lot of trouble between us. Sam and I finally got back together and we brought Danny home for the first time and then I was shot and taken by Helena. I barely spent one night with my son when we got him back, and maybe if Elizabeth didn't switch the results I could have had more time with him."

"She has sons, why would she do that?"

"Because, like I said, she has an obsession with Jason. She wants what she can't have, and she knows he loves me," Sam said. "I was friendly with her at one point, and when Jake died and she would come here at all hours of the day I would give them space. I get repaid by her taking my husband from me and keeping my son from his father."

"I'm sorry," Emily said after staying quiet for a few minutes. "It's difficult jumping in to all this when you're missing so many years."

"I know," Jason said. "It'll get better, but you have to understand everyone has changed. Elizabeth including."

"It's just hard seeing her alone like that."

"She's burned too many bridges," Jason shrugged. "I can't help her anymore. If I do, she takes that as this sign that she can try to ruin my marriage and I won't have that. Sam means everything to me."

"I'm glad to see you two are still together, despite how things ended between us before I was taken," Emily said and Sam nodded. "You're good for my brother."

"He's good for me," Sam said, walking up behind him and placing her hand on his shoulder. "I understand that Elizabeth is your friend, and I think she needs friends right now. I just don't want her to think what she did was okay."

"No, I know," Emily nodded. "It wasn't."

"She was showing pictures of me and Rafe Kovich to Jason and made it seem as if I was cheating on him, meanwhile Rafe is Molly's age and has no family. He's living here until school starts."

"Rafe is a good kid," Emily said, thinking back to when she knew him. "He's seen a lot. I can't believe she jumped to that conclusion."

"She's been waiting for an opportunity to pounce," Nikolas said. "Lucky said she was acting odd for days, she was planning this and didn't expect it to not work out in her favor."

"I'm sorry I barged in the way I did."

"You're always welcome here," Jason said, standing up as she stood up. "Other than all of this, is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Just trying to understand it all."

"I'm here if you need to talk," he said, giving her a hug.

"Me too," Sam offered, even though she figured she'd be the last person Emily wanted to talk to. Sam walked over to Nikolas and patted him on the arm. "Thanks for coming."

"The least I could do."

"Listen, I'm still a little hurt by everything you've done, but you're my cousin," Sam said and gave him a soft smile. "You've been working to become the man that I've known for so many years again, and I'm glad."

"Things just got so out of hand."

"I know how that gets, trust me," she said with a nod. "I was just so hurt because I never thought you'd keep that type of secret from me."

"I wanted to tell you, Helena convinced me not to, and then I found out she had people watching Spencer," he said with a sigh. "I still should have told you, you could have helped."

"It's in the past," she said. "Just don't go all Cassadine on us again, I might have to shoot you."

"Deal," he said with a laugh.

"Just a side note, since we're talking about people changing for the better," Sam said and Nikolas groaned, knowing where she was going with this. "What?"

"You're going to tell me to give Britt another chance."

"You don't have to run out and marry her, but I think you should try talking to her everyone once in a while. She knows she messed up."

"I guess I'd be a little bit of a hypocrite if I said no," he sighed. "Fine."

"Good, lovely to see you," Sam said as she showed them out. "That was not how I expected today to go."

"Not at all," Jason said, pulling Sam close. "This Elizabeth mess isn't going to go away, is it?"

"It will, eventually," Sam said with a shrug. "But she doesn't matter. What matters is us, and Danny, and the new baby."

"You're right," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled. "Now back to our earlier discussion."

"Which one?"

"Earlier discussion," Sam said seductively as she pulled away from him. "I think we have some more time before we have to get Danny."

"I will be a very eager participant in this discussion."

"I'm sure you will," Sam laughed as she ran up the stairs with Jason close behind.


	32. XXXII.

"Shouldn't we get Danny back to Sam and Jason now?" Molly asked as she followed Kristina into Kelly's.

"I'm sure they won't mind us feeding him lunch and letting them have a few more hours of alone time," Kristina said. "Danny wants chicken fingers, anyway."

"And french fries!" he said excitedly. "And ice cream."

"How about just chicken fingers and french fries?" Molly said.

"Aunt Krissy," Danny said sweetly, smiling up at her.

"Of course you can have ice cream too," she said.

"Pushover," Molly muttered as they sat down.

"No, you're just mad I'm the favorite," Kristina shrugged. "How's TJ doing?"

"He's good," Molly nodded. "He's interning this summer at Genera Hospital, so he'll be around more. I just texted him to come meet us for lunch, actually."

"Rafe!" Danny said excitedly as he jumped out of his chair and ran over to Rafe.

"Hey Danny," Rafe said, picking him up and carrying him back to the table. "Don't run off from your aunts, they might get nervous."

"Did you have fun at the party?"

"Yeah, a lot of fun," Rafe said. "Hi Kristina, Hi Molly."

"Good to see you," Kristina said, and Molly nodded. "You working here now?"

"Yeah," he said, gesturing to his apron. "Jason offered to talk to Michael about getting me a job at ELQ for the summer, but him and Sam have done a lot for me already. I'll be dorming at PCU in the fall, so they just have to deal with me for another two months."

"Sam's so happy that you're back," Kristina said. "Don't think you're a burden to them. Spinelli lived with Jason for years, so they're used to roommates."

"Are you doing better now?" Molly asked and Rafe knew she was referring to his drug problem.

"Much better," he said. "I was, uh, treated while I was away. Even if I wasn't, I wouldn't take advantage of Sam's trust, not again."

"That's good to hear," Molly said.

"Are you still with TJ?" Rafe asked and as she was about to answer, TJ walked through the door and over to them.

"Weren't you dead?" TJ asked, in shock when he saw Rafe standing before him and didn't know what else to say.

"Dead tired from the party yesterday? Yeah, he was," Kristina said, glaring at her sister's boyfriend.

"Sorry," TJ said, noticing Danny sitting there.

"I can take your orders if you're ready, or you can let me know when you are," Rafe said, wanting to avoid any confrontation. He figured TJ wouldn't be too happy to see him.

"Chicken fingers!" Danny said and Rafe laughed at his enthusiasm.

"I'll get Danny's order in and then come back," Rafe said before walking away.

"That was rude," Molly said as she turned to TJ. "I told you what happened."

"I'm sorry. It's one thing to hear he was back, but another thing to see him."

"He's living with Sam until he starts school, so try to be nice to him," Kristina said and rolled her eyes when he looked offended. "He's trying to change, and if Sam respects that than we all should."

"You're right," he nodded. "What are you two up to? Taking Danny to the park?"

"No, he slept over last night," Molly said. "We were supposed to drop him off, but Kristina decided to detour."

"My favorite nephew wanted chicken fingers and ice cream, and Sam and Jason need all the alone time they can get. She's got another one on the way and things will be very busy," Kristina said with a shrug. "I'd keep him longer, but I have to stop at the hospital."

"For what?"

"Just a check-up."

"Watch out for Elizabeth," Molly said and Kristina laughed. "She seems unstable lately."

"Lately? I don't think she's ever been stable," Kristina said. "It'll be fine. I think the hospital has been drama-free lately. Everyone's probably hungover from the party."

* * *

"We didn't accomplish much planning today," Sam said as she cuddled into Jason's arms on the couch.

"I think we accomplished quite a bit," Jason said smugly, thinking back to how they spent the morning and part of the afternoon. "I can see why Kristina is the favorite aunt."

"Because she keeps our son for longer than necessary so we can have sex?" Sam asked bluntly and he nodded excitedly. "You're ridiculous."

"Just in love with my wife," he said, leaning down to kiss her when someone knocked on the door. "Really?"

"Some things never change," Sam smirked as she stood up to answer it, finding Carly on the other side. "Like I said."

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Never," Sam said sarcastically. "Come in, what brings you by?"

"I was, uh, hoping to talk to Jason," Carly said, discomfort evident in her tone. "I can come back."

"No, stay," Sam said, knowing right away what she came to talk to Jason for. "I will be upstairs getting some work done and I need to call Spinelli and Lucky for any updates on who tampered with your bike."

"You don't have to go," Carly said quickly, not really sure if she wanted to talk to Jason by herself about this. Her relationship with Franco was a huge mistake and she hurt so many people she loved, but having to tell Jason made it a lot worse.

"It'll be okay," Sam said quietly, hugging her friend. "It's just Jason, he'll understand."

"I hurt you by dating him, I hurt Michael. I thought Michael's reaction was going to be the worst, I never expected having to tell Jason."

"He already knows, all you need to do is explain," Sam said. "I'll be upstairs."

Carly took a deep breath to settle her nerves before walking over to the couch and sitting down. Jason waited patiently and watched in fascination as Sam and Carly interacted, because it was still very strange to know they were friends after everything.

"So, what brings you by?"

"Franco," Carly said. "I need to explain to you what happened."

"Sam told me you two grew close, and then he saved Michael and you fell in love," Jason said, giving the cliffnotes version of what he was told.

"I was so lost without you, Jason," Carly said, tears filling her eyes. "My best friend was dead and I didn't know what to do. I was making mistakes left and right because I didn't have you there to tell me what to do. Franco came back and did this awful reveal that he tricked Sam and you into thinking she was raped, and that he really didn't have Carter rape Michael. It was disgusting, but somehow I believed the tumor excuse. I believed that he was a changed man, and for some reason I think I thought that because he was a connection to you."

"I can't tell you that I understand, because I don't," Jason told her honestly. "Franco did horrible things to the people I love and if Sam didn't make me promise not to go after him, he'd be dead right now."

"I knew you'd hate me for this," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't hate you," he said and she looked up at him in surprise. "You made a mistake, we all have made mistakes. You turned to someone while you felt vulnerable, and while I hate that that person was Franco, it's in the past. I'm sure while it happened you dealt with a lot from everyone, so I'm not going to start that up again."

"I've missed you so much," Carly said, crying as she hugged him. "Thank you."

"We're all finally in a good place, and I don't want you to worry about what you did when everyone thought I was dead," he said.

"I gave up hope," she said quietly. "Sam didn't, and I should have held on with her. She had such faith that you were still alive, and I think if everything didn't happen with Danny right after you were shot, she would have kept looking."

"I'm glad she didn't," he said and Carly looked surprised. "I wasn't here for her or Danny, and she found people to support her. I hate the fact that she fell in love with Patrick and was going to marry him, but at the same time I'm glad she was able to find love if I never came back."

"She struggled with that," Carly said. "She loved Patrick, and he was great to her and Danny, but he wasn't you. No one has ever come close to having Sam love them the way she loves you."

"I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have her every day," Jason said, a smile gracing his face as he thought of his wife.

"I hated her back in the day," Carly laughed as she took note of the look of pure love that crossed her friend's face as he thought of Sam. "I saw how in love with her you were and how happy she made you and I hated that it wasn't me who made you smile like that. Even when you were with Elizabeth, you didn't look at her the way you looked at Sam."

"I didn't love her like that. I thought I got her pregnant, and at the time it was like the universe wanted Sam and me apart, so I tried to do the right thing. I was so blind to Elizabeth back then," he said, shaking his head. "We were friends for so long, I never thought she was really like this."

"Maybe if you listened to me," Carly said with a shrug. "It's been a long time coming for that bitch. I'm very glad you see her for who she really is now."

"If anything good came out of living as 'Jake Doe' for a year, it was that."

"I think if Sam wasn't with Patrick at the time, you would have been with her instead," Carly said. "You two were drawn to each other."

"Helena wanted me to kill her," Jason said.

"But you couldn't," Carly reminded him. "Anyway, thank you for being you and accepting me and my massive mistakes."

"I've stuck by you this long," he said as he stood up to show her out.

"Jason!" Sam yelled as she ran down the stairs. Jason panicked and thought something happened to her or the baby. "Spinelli figured out who it was!"

"Really? You scared the shit out of me, I thought you were hurt," he said, breating a sigh of relief as he pulled her into his arms.

"Who messed with his bike that caused him to crash?" Carly asked.

"Obrecht," Sam said. "Spinelli got the facial match. He called Lucky and they're getting a warrant to arrest her."

"Good luck with that," Carly laughed. "Didn't she weasel her way out of WSB custody or something?"

"I don't know," Sam sighed. "We found out that Nathan West is actually Victor Cassadine's son and we think she's involved with whatever they were doing with Jake and Rafe."

"Maybe we can talk to Anna, see what she has to say," Jason said and Sam and Carly looked at him in shock. "What? I'm out of the business and looking to press charges against the woman who tried to kill me."

"Never thought I'd see the day," Carly said with a smirk.

"I worked with Lucky and Dante in the past."

"Dante very reluctantly, and Lucky only because you two were kind of friends, and I think to rub it in his face that you got back with Sam after they were sleeping together," Carly said with a shrug. "I have to get back to the hotel. Good luck with all this."

"It was nice Lucky not being in Port Charles, I forgot that you two were together," Jason said after Carly left. Not that he'd openly admit it, but he was jealous of everyone who was with Sam that wasn't him. Seeing her happy with Lucky made him realize how big of a mistake he had made.

"Excuse me?" Sam said, putting her hands on her hips. "Imagine how I felt having Elizabeth Webber show up at every turn and interrupt us! Worming her way between us because she's crazy, and you have the nerve to talk about me and Lucky?"

"I just always remember that day you called me over to tell me you planned on seducing him in that hot tub to make me jealous."

"Damn right," she nodded indigently. "And I did. I bet it worked too, you were jealous."

"I was," he said. "I like to have you all to myself."

"And you have me," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "We have each other and our family, that's all that matters."

* * *

Emily headed over to the hospital after she spoke with Jason. She felt almost normal again while she was at General Hospital, and was planning on returning to work there. She still couldn't wrap her head around what Elizabeth put Jason through. She was conflicted between her feelings for her best friend and her feelings toward her brother – which made her angry with herself. She should automatically side with Jason because that was her brother, but she kept thinking back to the sweet girl she knew Elizabeth to and kept wishing there was an answer for her actions. She was so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't paying attention to when she stepped off the elevator and bumped right into someone, causing them to drop the files they were carrying.

"I am so sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Emily said, squatting down to help pick up the paperwork before seeing who she knocked into.

"It's fine," Elizabeth side, Emily recognizing her voice. "It's good to have you back, Emily."

"It's good to be back," she said. They picked up the rest of the files and headed over to the check-in desk. "I'm really sorry I made you drop everything."

"It's fine," she sighed. "I've been reduced to filing for now by Epiphany."

"Oh, how come?"

"Sam gets hysterical every time she's here and points fingers at me," she said bitterly. "She took everything for me, but I guess that isn't enough she has to ruin my job too."

"I don't think she ever intended that," Emily said, shocked because for the first time she's seeing her old friend in a different light. "Elizabeth, can I ask you why you lied about Jason's identity when you knew you were keeping him from his family?"

"Because I finally could have my chance with Jason," she said. "Because he wasn't plagued by his ties to the mob. He saw Sam as just a friend, proving my theory that he never truly loved her. He was better off with me."

"You really believe that," Emily said in amazement. "You really think he was better off living as Jake Doe, thinking he had no family and no one who loved him?"

"I loved him," she snapped. "He had family with me. I gave him everything."

"No, you didn't," Emily said. "You gave him a chance at family when you finally felt like it was okay for him to have one. You lied about Jake being his son, then you told him and he tried to do the right thing and be with you and sacrificed his own love to be a good father. Turns out you lied the whole time and Lucky was really the father? Why would you do that to both of them?"

"I don't have an answer," Elizabeth said, not liking the direction this conversation was going.

"You lied about Jake to keep Jason attached to you. You used your son as a pawn to keep Jason close. That's sick."

"Why are you condemning me? You didn't even like Sam."

"You're right, I wasn't fond of her before I was taken. I don't really know who she is now, but she seems like she's grown as a person," Emily said, keeping her thought about Elizabeth doing the opposite to herself. "Sam has always wanted a family with Jason, she wanted to give him a child so badly. You knew she was struggling with having a baby, you took advantage of that heartbreaking situation by lying about Jake."

"They had more problems than me."

"They did, but maybe if you were a better person they would have worked things out," Emily said. "I can't fully hate you for what you did back then, because I played a part in it. I encouraged you to go after my brother, fully knowing he was in love with Sam. I don't know why, Sam always treated me fairly and I didn't show her the same respect."

"Because you knew she was trash."

"Because you were my best friend and I didn't want to see you for the person you were becoming, the person you are now," Emily said angrily. "I played a part in that, and I regret it."

"So why are you so angry at me then? I did what you told me to do all those years ago. I saw a chance with Jason and I took it. I love him. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"Why am I angry with you? You kept my mother from her son," Emily said. "I won't forgive you for what you did to my mom. She thought all her children were dead, meanwhile Jason was being treated in this hospital, living with you, and you continued to lie to her. I will never forgive you for that."

"That wasn't my intention."

"Because you were blinded by greed. My mother has been through so much, at a point she thought she was the only one living left of her family. I would think since your son was taken from you for so many years, you would show remorse for doing the same to another mother, but no."

"Things are back how they're supposed to be," Elizabeth said in a huff. "Sam won, I lost. Things are right in the world. What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to remember that at one point, I chose your side over my own family. I won't do that again," Emily said. "We were best friends, but not anymore. Don't come near me or my family, and that includes Jason, Sam, and Danny. You've hurt us all enough."

Elizabeth watched as Emily walked away and headed toward Monica's office. Once she was out of sight, Elizabeth allowed herself to cry. She had hoped that if Emily was back, she'd have her friend back, the person who always stood by her. She never thought it would take this turn. She was alone, and it was her fault.

"I'd ask if everything was okay, but I see you're crying," Franco said, handing Elizabeth the tissue box that was on the counter. "That sounded brutal."

"That was a private conversation," she said, snatching the tissue box from him as she tried to compose herself.

"It was a loud one," he said with a shrug. "If you ever want to talk, or draw, I kind of know what it's like to be the town pariah due to the things I did because of Jason. I'm always around."

"Uh," Elizabeth said, confused but a little touched at his kindness. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. She stacked the files back together and began her walk back to where she was heading before Emily bumped into her, feeling surprisingly a little better. Kristina stepped out from where she was hiding and shook her head in shock.

"That's going to be a problem in the making," she muttered, texting Sam about what she saw as she headed to her appointment with Lucas.


	33. XXXIII.

Sam and Jason cheered as Danny hit his first home run and ran around the bases. It was the end of his season and Sam was so happy he was really enjoying himself. Jason took Sam's hand as they stood up from the bleachers and headed over to where the boys were.

"Emily called me before, she wanted to know if we'd stop by for dinner," Jason said.

"Is Monica home tonight?"

"No, she's working," Jason said and noticed Sam's facial expression changed. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," she said quickly. "I told my mom I'd stop by with Danny later, but you can go over there."

"I'll come by Alexis's with you."

"No, don't worry. You and Emily need to spend some time together."

"I figured we could all spend some time together, as a family," he said, not figuring out what the issue is.

"Mommy!" Danny yelled as he ran into her legs. "Did you watch me?"

"Danny, you did such a good job," Sam congratulated him as he detached himself from her and went for Jason next.

"Did you see when I hit the ball?"

"Yeah, and when you ran around the bases," Jason said as he took the helmet off him. "You did awesome, buddy."

"That's because we practiced a lot," Danny said with a small nod.

"You think you want to play again next year?" Sam asked and watched as Danny looked up at Jason warily.

"Are you going to be here next year too, Dad?"

"Of course," Jason said, squatting down to be eye level with his son. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to be here forever, I promise."

"Then I'll play again next year," Danny said excitedly.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it so much," Sam said, trying not to cry. Having Jason back has been such a blessing not only for her, but for Danny. Seeing the two of them interact reminded her of how much she wanted to experience this with Jason and how badly she had wished Danny could get to know his father when she thought he was dead.

"Hi Sam, hi Danny," Emma said as she approached them.

"Hi Emma, how are you?" Sam asked, reaching down to hug her. "Who are you here with?"

"My dad," she said happily. "I saw Danny and wanted to make sure I got a chance to say hi."

"Hey, we caught some of Danny's game," Patrick said, high fiving Danny. "Nice job on that home run."

"Thanks, I've been practicing with my dad," Danny said proudly as he beamed up at Jason. "Can I go play in the playground?"

"Me too?" Emma asked Patrick, who nodded.

"I'll watch them," Jason said, kissing Sam on the forehead before following the kids into the playground.

"So, when are you heading back to California?" Sam asked, walking over to the closest bench to sit down so they could talk.

"Actually, we're not," Patrick said and Sam looked at him in shock. "Monica offered Robin and I our old jobs back, plus Robin would be able to continue to do research here."

"That's wonderful," Sam said with a smile as she hugged him. "You have definitely been missed."

"By the hospital or by you?"

"By both," she said, shoving him a bit. "We ended things mutually because it was for the best, and I don't regret a single thing about our relationship. You made me realize I was able to fall in love again and I'll be forever grateful to you for that. We were friends first, too. I miss that."

"Me too," he said, patting her knee. "And I feel the same way, I'm glad we can still be friends. Things seem to be going back to the old days around here. You're back with Jason, Robin is home with me, Emily is alive."

"Yeah, it's great," Sam sighed, sounding far from thrilled.

"I'm going to use my wonderful P.I. skills that I learned from you and guess that what you sound so happy about is Emily being back," Patrick said and Sam couldn't help but smile. "Do I win?"

"You did learn from the best," she said, running her hand through her hair. "Don't get me wrong, it's great she's back. Monica is so happy to know that her daughter is alive, and Jason and her have always been close."

"But she was good friends with Elizabeth and encouraged her to go for Jason," Patrick said and Sam nodded.

"I'm so tired of being forgiving and understanding," she said suddenly, having to let her frustration out. "It's exhausting trying to keep my cool as I'm faced with the people who have done things that effected my life when I didn't do anything to them to deserve it."

"There is a list of people these days," Patrick said with a nod. "I would expect Nikolas to be at the top of that list."

"He was. I had it out with my cousin, and he knows what he did was wrong. He's done things that have led me to not want to hate him for the rest of his life, so we've been on better terms. He brought Jason to the hospital when he found him after his bike crashed, and he has picked my side over Elizabeth's a couple of times. He's family, it's difficult to hold a grudge forever when he's been trying to change his ways."

"Elizabeth's not family, so safe to assume you will forever hold that grudge?"

"I just don't care about anything to do with her," she shrugged. "I've said my piece and Jason has made it clear she means nothing to him. She just looks crazier every time she tries to come between us, and that's on her, not me."

"I saw Emily in the hospital and her and Elizabeth don't talk, if that makes it better."

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "Kristina was at the hospital about a month ago and overheard Emily and Elizabeth having a heated discussion. She also saw Franco and Elizabeth have a nice chat. He's another one I have to deal with and try to bite my tongue because he's a changed person."

"Have you talked to Jason about how you feel about Emily?"

"How can I? She's his sister," Sam said quietly, looking down at her nails and picking at the polish. "I think he knows something is up because I avoid talking to her when I can."

"I feel like there's something else bothering you," he said. He might not be as well-versed in Samantha Morgan as Jason is, but being with her for a year gave him some insight on certain things about her. "I'm probably over-stepping here, but have you ever talked to Jason about how he treated you when he was Jake Doe?"

"Uh, no," Sam said. "I didn't really know how to approach that conversation, or even if I wanted to at the time. He was back with me. I was just really happy to have him back."

"Maybe you should have that conversation," Patrick offered.

"Don't you think it's a little too late for that?" she said, gesturing to her stomach where a small bump was being to form. "Hey, I know we're renewing our vows in a month and I'm four months pregnant and we've been really happy, but you were a real dick to me when you found out you were Jason and still wanted to stay Jake Doe."

"When you put it like that," Patrick said, rolling his eyes at her. "I'm just saying, I think there's residual pain over that and you might want to think about discussing it."

"Yeah, I'll think about it," she said, but knowing she wouldn't have that conversation with Jason.

It wasn't something she really considered at the time when they were getting back together. He had apologized for how he treated her at the Nutcracker Gala and that was enough – until the accident when she thought all her worst fears were going to come true. After that, she started to realize how dismissive he really was of their marriage when he found out he was Jason, how he pulled her in by saying he remembers being with her only to push her away again because he was in love with Elizabeth. The way he spoke to her when she tried to tell him the truth about Elizabeth. It worried her that maybe their relationship wasn't all that it seemed, what they both believed it to be.

"Sam," Patrick said, bringing her away from her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. I feel like I'm planting ideas in your head."

"No, they're ideas that's been there for a while," she said. "It's my own fault. I was quick to jump back into things when I really should have took the time to get all of this out there. I just didn't think of it."

"You both are very happy together. I can see it every time you smile and laugh, it's like you're a whole person again," Patrick said, taking her hand. "You two will overcome any obstacle, even the ones you made for yourselves."

"Thank you," she said quietly, feeling herself get emotional. "It's the pregnancy hormones."

"Good excuse," Patrick smirked, standing up and holding his hand out to Sam.

They walked over to the playground where Jason was standing. Jason turned around when he felt Sam's hand on his back and frowned when he noticed it looked like she had been crying.

"Everything okay?" he asked, looking between the two.

"Yeah," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Pregnancy hormones, I get emotional over the stupidest things."

"Like what?"

"Like telling her Robin and I are moving back to Port Charles," Patrick covered for her.

"That's great, congratulations," Jason said, about to continue when a scream stopped him and had the three of them frozen.

"Daddy!" Emma screamed as she ran over. "She took Danny!"

"What?" Jason said. Sam was grateful that she was holding onto Jason because she lost all feeling in her legs when Emma shouted that.

"Jason, you have to get him back," Sam said, feeling Patrick's arms around her as she let go of Jason and sunk to the ground. "You have to get back our son."

"I've got her, go," Patrick said and Jason ran off in the direction Emma came from. "Emma, who took Danny?"

"Dr. Obrecht! I tried to stop her, but she pushed me and took him. I'm sorry," she cried, feeling terrible that she couldn't save Danny from the crazy woman.

"No, you did great, sweetheart," Patrick said, comforting his daughter. "Danny's going to be okay. His dad is going to get him. Let's help get Sam up, okay? Sam? Sam!"

Sam didn't know what happened after Emma said Dr. Obrecht took her son. Everything went black and she was glad she was already on the ground when it happened.


	34. XXXIV.

"Father, it is a glorious afternoon to be in the park. Wouldn't you agree?" Spencer said as he walked alongside Nikolas as they headed into the park together.

"I would agree," he said. "I'm surprised you were the one who suggested it. Any particular reason why?"

"I can't just enjoy the wonders of nature?"

"Right," Nikolas said, unable to help the smirk that crossed his face. "Doesn't have anything to do with Emma, who I see by her father?"

"I don't understand what you're implying, Father," Spencer said. Nikolas was about to reply when a woman holding a crying boy ran past them and almost knocked Spencer down. Spencer looked rattled when Nikolas steadied him.

"What's wrong? Did she hurt you?"

"That looked like Danny," Spencer said, his flowery language stopped when he realized who the boy was. "Dad, that wasn't Sam."

"Go straight to Patrick," Nikolas said and Spencer nodded, running into the playground.

Nikolas turned around and ran after the woman who was kidnapping Danny. He heard someone's footsteps pounding on the pavement behind him, and assumed it was Jason but wouldn't turn around to look. Luckily, Danny seemed to be too heavy for the woman to carry and run with in her arms – she was slowing down. Nikolas caught the woman's arm and pulled her back. She stumbled and almost dropped Danny, but Jason was right there and grabbed Danny out of her arms. The woman tried to run away, but Nikolas was able to restrain her since Danny was safe.

"You're okay, buddy," Jason said, trying to soothe his upset son. He looked up and nodded at Nikolas. "Thank you."

"Let go of me, I thought Cassadine's were raised with manners!" Obrecht yelled as she struggled against Nikolas.

"Those manners go out the window when I'm dealing with people who are hurting my family," he said. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I did what I had to do," she said.

"You had to take my son?" Jason said angrily. He was about to go on, but he wasn't going to upset Danny anymore. "You're done for. I'm calling the police."

"Looks like someone already did," Nikolas said, spotting a police car arrive, as well as an ambulance. Lucky and Dante approached them. "She tried to kidnap Danny Morgan."

"You're under arrest for attempted kidnapping, as well as the attempted murder of Jason Morgan," Dante said, taking Obrecht from Nikolas and handcuffing her.

"He's alive, isn't he," she sneered.

"You have the right to remain silent, I suggest you exercise that right," Dante said, and then continued to read her her rights.

"The ambulance is for who?" Nikolas asked Lucky, but his question was answered when Patrick came out of the park carrying Sam in his arms, Spencer and Emma following behind him.

"Sam," Jason said helplessly.

"She passed out in the park, she didn't come to right away. She was coherent for a moment before losing consciousness again," Patrick told the EMTs as he placed her on the stretcher.

"She's four-months pregnant," Jason said. The EMT looked at him questioningly. "I'm her husband."

"Only one can come with us," he said, looking between Jason and Patrick.

"Their son needs to be checked out as well," Lucky said. "Jason and Danny will be riding along with you."

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Patrick said. Jason nodded before getting into the back of the ambulance, feeling overwhelmed and scared – two things he's not accustomed to feeling.

"I'll stay with Emma and Spencer, she'll be okay," Nikolas said to Patrick. "I'll be stopping by the hospital later now anyway, so it's no problem."

"I appreciate that," Patrick said, turning to Emma. "Are you okay with that, Emma?"

"Is Sam and her baby going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

"She's going to be fine. Mommy is at the hospital, and I'm going to go over there now too if you're okay staying with Spencer and his dad."

"Britt is there too and she's Sam's baby's doctor," Spencer said. "She's not going to let anything happen to them."

"I'll be okay here," Emma nodded. Patrick squatted down to her hug.

"She'll be down at the PCPD for questioning. I have a feeling Jason's going to want answers directly," Lucky said to Nikolas.

"I don't understand why she would take Danny," Nikolas said. "It doesn't make sense."

"I think there's something we're missing in this grand scheme that Helena started," Lucky said and Nikolas nodded in agreement. "Hopefully we'll get some answers out of her."

"Doubtful," Nikolas said. "Let me know what happens."

"I will."

* * *

Jason paced back and forth in Danny's room while Lucas was examining him to make sure he was okay. He didn't know how Sam was doing yet, but he knew Robin and Patrick were treating her. It didn't make him feel better, but it helped.

"Does anything hurt, Danny?" Lucas asked.

"My arm," Danny said, sniffling as he pointed at his shoulder. "She pulled it really hard."

"Okay," Lucas nodded. "Jason, I'm going to bring him to get an x-ray done to see if anything is broken. Do you want to come with me or check on Sam?"

"I'll walk down and then check on Sam while he's getting it done," Jason said, not wanting to leave Danny by himself after everything.

"I'll bring him to her room once I'm done."

"Uncle Lucas is going to take a picture of your bones to make sure everything is okay," Jason explained to Danny as he picked him up.

"Where's Mommy?"

"Mommy's getting checked on too," Jason said as he followed Lucas down the hallway. "While you're getting the pictures done, I'm going to check on Mommy. Uncle Lucas is going to bring you after to see her, is that okay?"

"Yeah, I want Mommy," he said sadly, resting his head on Jason's shoulder.

"I know, buddy," Jason said, rubbing his back. They stopped in front of the x-ray room and Lucas held his arms out to take Danny.

"We'll be quick. Me and Danny have fun, right?" Lucas said, and Danny nodded, just not as enthusiastically as he usually would. "Sam's in room 3-14, I'll bring him right over once we're done."

"Thank you," Jason said, waiting to leave until they were in the room. He headed toward Sam's room and tried to keep it together for his family.

"Jason! What happened," Alexis said, running off of the elevator to him. "Nikolas called me and told me to come here. Why is this turning into a regular thing?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "Obrecht tried to kidnap Danny. He's getting an x-ray done with Lucas right now, and Sam passed out in the park. I'm going to check on her now, I've been with Danny."

"I'm so sorry," Alexis said, hugging him. She saw how exhausted and defeated he looked after the day he's had. "Do you mind if I come with you?"

"Not at all," he said and led the way to Sam's room. They walked in and saw Robin and Patrick standing at the end of her bed, discussing whatever was on her chart. "Is she okay?"

"She is," Patrick said. "She's awake."

"And the baby?"

"Britt said the baby is perfectly fine," Robin said. "They're both going to be okay."

"Thank God," he said, breathing a sigh of relief as he went to sit by her side.

"Where's Danny?" Sam asked.

"He's getting an x-ray done on his arm," Jason said, trying to control his anger that his son might be hurt.

"I'll go wait for him, Jason said Lucas was going to bring him here once he's done," Alexis said, going to the other side of the bed and brushing the hair out of Sam's face. "I'm so glad you're okay, sweetheart."

"Thank you, Mom," Sam said softly.

"I'll be back," she said as she left.

"We'll leave you two alone. Sam, as long as the test results come back okay, you can go home tonight," Robin said.

"Patrick, thank you," Sam said, reaching her hand out for his. He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand.

"I'm glad you're okay. I'm going to call and let Emma know how you're doing," he said, leaving to give them some privacy.

"I was so scared when I saw Patrick carrying you out to the ambulance," Jason admitted once they were alone. "Any relief I felt from getting Danny back disappeared once I saw that you were unconscious."

"I couldn't handle losing him. I knew you'd get him back, but just knowing he had been taken was too much. He's my world. I'm so glad you were there."

"Actually, I can't take all the credit," Jason said. "Nikolas caught up to Obrecht before I did and grabbed her."

"Nikolas?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I'm so glad my cousin is back," she said. "After everything he did for me when Danny was sick, it was hard seeing such a drastic change in him."

"Is it okay to come in?" Emily asked after knocking. Sam didn't say anything, which Jason noticed as he nodded and waved her in. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

"Not really. Someone tried to take my son from me, which unfortunately is nothing new," Sam said, not in the mood to pretend to be nice.

"I couldn't imagine."

"No, you couldn't."

"How's Danny doing?"

"He's getting checked out by Lucas," Jason said, noticing Sam's coldness toward Emily.

"He's in good hands, Lucas is a great doctor from what I've heard."

"He's my brother, he wouldn't let anything happen to Danny," Sam snapped.

"I didn't mean that he would," Emily said, confused by Sam's attitude toward her. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"I'm just tired," Sam said dismissively.

"I'll go," Emily said with a small nod before leaving. Jason was going to follow her out, but thought better of it. Sam was obviously bothered by Emily and he didn't want to upset her anymore.

"Can I ask what that was about?" he asked gently, not wanting to start an argument.

"I'm so tired, Jason," Sam said, trying not to cry as she moved restlessly in the hospital bed.

"It's been a long day, why don't you rest? We can talk later."

"No, I'm tired of being the bigger person and having to be nice to the people who have tried to ruin my life," she said, sitting up. "It is exhausting having to remind myself that I can't flip out on these people because taking the high road is supposedly easier. It's not. It lets people think what they did was okay."

"Are you talking about Elizabeth?" Jason asked, confused at where this was coming from. "No matter what she does, she has no effect on our lives anymore. She means nothing."

"I'm talking about Emily," she spat out and Jason was only somewhat surprised. He had a feeling Emily was the problem, but didn't expect her to sound so angry. Little did he know Emily was just the tip of the iceberg. "I have been trying my best to be nice to her now that she has her memories back, but I can only do so much. I know how happy you are to have her back, how thrilled Monica is, and I figured it would be better if I just stayed quiet."

"Why Emily?"

"Jason, she is part of the reason Elizabeth went after you all those years ago! She enabled this obsession and, unfortunately, wasn't around to see the problems it caused. I was so nice to her, I stuck up for her and defended her. How did I get repaid? By her telling that bitch to she deserved to have a chance with you and she should take it."

"I thought we weren't going to let Elizabeth affect our lives anymore."

"It's not just her, Jason. It's you, too," Sam said angrily, just as Lucas walked in with Danny in his arms.

"Everything okay?" he asked, noticing Sam looked pissed and Jason didn't look too happy either. "I just spoke to Patrick, you can go home. The baby is fine, you're fine. Try to avoid too much stress, so I suggest maybe putting whatever conversation I interrupted on the back burner for now."

"It's been on the back burner for too long," Sam grumbled as she got out of the bed. "How is he?"

"His arm had a few small fractures," Lucas said sadly as he placed Danny down on the bed. His right arm covered with a blue cast. "He must have struggled to get away when she grabbed him."

"I'm going to kill her," Jason said as Sam held Danny in her arms and allowed herself to cry after everything that happened today.

"I just want to go home," Sam said quietly. "Is my mom still here?"

"Yeah, she's right outside. Want me to go get her?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure," she said and Lucas nodded, leaving them alone. "I'm going to my mom's house for the night."

"Sam, after everything that happened today you're really not going to come home with me?"

"I can't. I'm just so overwhelmed by everything and how I'm feeling, that I can't be home. I just need to be with Danny so I can think."

"I need to be with our son, too; and you. What did I do that's making you want to leave?"

"The stress isn't good for the baby," Sam muttered as she stood up.

"Please, Sam," he said, taking her hands in his. "I thought I was going to lose my family today."

"A family you couldn't give a damn about months ago when you found out who you were," she said angrily as she pulled her hands from his and began to change into the clothes Alexis dropped off for her.

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" she said with a humorless laugh. "Carly told you who you were, you came to the church that you were supposed to marry Elizabeth in and you announced you were Jason Morgan – my husband who I spent hours searching the water for because I was convinced you were still alive. I never once gave you the impression that I wanted to jump right back into our old lives like nothing happened. I was engaged to another man who I loved, and you still intended on marrying Elizabeth. All I wanted was for you to acknowledge the connection we had, the one we still had that stopped you from killing me on Helena's orders – the connection that was so strong when you were in a coma and I held your hand, your heart rate increased through all the sedation. What did you do instead? Tell me you remembered being with me, kissed me so passionately that I bet it threw you for a loop because you sure as hell didn't feel that with Elizabeth, and then tell me you were still in love with her and you wanted the best for me."

"I didn't remember our life, Sam. I didn't want to hurt you like that."

"No, you wanted to be with Elizabeth. You threw me out of her house when I tried to tell you the truth, and then came back because deep down you knew I wouldn't lie to you. Once she admitted the truth, you couldn't be with her because she played you for a fool."

"Everyone did!" he yelled, and stopped when he saw Danny stir. "Sam, do we have to do this now?"

"No, we don't," she said as she zipped up her jacket. She picked up Danny and walked out of the room and over to Alexis. "Mom, can I stay by you for tonight?"

"Uh, of course," Alexis said, looking between Sam and Jason and trying to figure out what happened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she said and began to walk to the elevator, not looking back at Jason who stared at her as she walked away, a look of despair filling his face. A lot had happened today, and he was beginning to get worried that it was too much for them to handle.

* * *

"She waived her right to counsel," Dante said as he and Lucky looked at Obrecht through the window while she sat in the interrogation room. "Who's going to question her?"

"Flip a coin?" Lucky suggested. "We have to be careful about this, because she's been working with the Cassadine's on whatever sick project they've been doing that involved Jake."

"You think there's more to it? I would think since Emily is gone and all the children they took are gone, there's nothing left."

"Yeah, I think I do," Lucky said. Sam had told him that Helena had built incubators to grow babies and how she thinks one of the embryos possibly used was Lulu's stolen one that had been fertilized by Stavros. Until he had proof, he didn't want to cause his sister any more heartache. "I'll question her."

"I'll supervise the interrogation," Anna said, coming up behind them with Jordan. "Obrecht should have stayed locked away for a long time, I want to make sure that happens this time."

"She looks defeated," Dante said. "Like she's giving up."

"Let's find out why," Lucky said with a sigh as he walked in, Anna following him into the room.

"How surprising, a visit from former Commissioner Anna Devane," Obrecht said as they sat down across from her.

"You've been read your rights and you waived your right to have counsel present at this time, that's correct?" Lucky asked, trying to stay on track.

"Yes, yes. I am fully aware," she rolled her eyes.

"There was a warrant out for your arrest for the attempted murder of Jason Morgan. Do you have any explanation as to why you tampered with his bike while it was in the hospital's parking garage?"

"Attempted murder," she scoffed. "I should be thanked for what I did. His memories have returned because of that accident."

"I don't believe Mr. or Mrs. Morgan feel very thankful for risking his life," Lucky said. "Why did you do it?"

"He was supposed to be the Cassadine soldier. They had great plans for him, I was to return him."

"To who?"

"I would have been welcomed back with open arms if I returned him, but that was ruined when Prince Nikolas showed up and took him to the hospital. I did not count on him returning to his old ways."

"Nikolas did the right thing," Lucky said. "Who would have welcomed you back?"

"Which Cassadine family member are you working for?" Anna asked, growing impatient. "You killed Victor, so who is it?"

"Is anyone ever truly dead these days?" Dr. Obrecht asked. "Other than your beloved Duke Lavery."

"Let's move on to more recent crimes," Lucky interrupted, not wanting Anna to lose it. "Today you were apprehended for the attempted kidnapping of Daniel Morgan."

"Another plan thwarted by Prince Nikolas," Obrecht grumbled as she leaned back in her seat.

"What was your purpose of taking that child? Was it another plan to lure Jason back under the control of the Cassadines?"

"What was the purpose of taking any of the children?" she said evasively.

"That's what I'm asking."

Jason decided to head down to the PCPD to see what Obrecht had to say. He couldn't sit home by himself and do nothing. He saw Dante and Jordan standing by the interrogation room and approached them.

"Mr. Morgan, you shouldn't be here," Jordan said, trying to usher him away.

"With all due respect, I'm staying here whether you like it or not," he said. "She tried to take my son, I want to know why."

"He'll be okay," Dante vouched for him. "How's Danny and Sam doing?"

"Danny has a broken arm from when she grabbed him, he's in a cast," Jason said, letting out a breath to control himself. "Sam and the baby are okay, they were all released."

"I'm sorry," Dante said. "Lucky and Anna are questioning her. She made it seem like Victor Cassadine is still alive. You think he's behind all of this?"

"Damned if I know," Jason said, shaking his head. "I understand her wanting me, I broke through Helena's conditioning and Rafe said Helena was not happy at all about that. Why take Danny?"

"Maybe as a way to lure you back?"

"I don't know," he said. They watched from the window for a few minutes and were surprised when Lucky stepped out of the room.

"Already done?" Dante asked.

"Uh, no," he shook his head. "She wants to tell Jason why she took Danny."

"I can't allow that," Jordan said.

"Anna and I will be in there, and Jason will be on his best behavior. Right?" Lucky said and Jason nodded, knowing he was at least going to try to keep his cool.

Jordan sighed, not happy about this at all but allowed it. Jason followed Lucky in and stood by the door, his arms crossed as he waited for Obrecht to explain herself.

"Hello Mr. Morgan. I expected that would you stop by for an explanation," Obrecht said.

"I'm waiting," Jason said gruffly. "What do you want with my family?"

"Isn't it interesting how destiny works? Two people who never met, one not knowing her true heritage and the other renouncing his, to come together and fall in love. Fascinating how that works."

"What are you getting at?"

"Samantha comes from the royal Cassadine family, from the offspring of an illicit affair on the paternal side. You, Jason, come from the prestigious Quartermaine family, the product of another illicit affair."

"And?"

"Your son is what we aimed to have. The great-grandson of Mikkos Cassadine and great-grandson of Edward Quartermaine. Patriarchs of two powerful families."

"You will never touch my son again, he will never have any part in any sick plan you came up with."

"He will do great things one day."

"Yes, but not for you," Jason said.

"Emily Quartermaine was another captive in this plot, and according to her she was married to Nathan West – who happens to be your's and Victor Cassadine's son. You would have had your Cassadine-Quartermaine child with that."

"Emily was not a Quartermaine, she was adopted," Obrecht said.

"She is a Quartermaine, and would receive an inheritance."

"Foolish boy. Money is nothing, bloodline is everything," Obrecht sneered. "Daniel Morgan is the purest heir."

"I've heard enough," Jason said, shaking his head. "Come near my family, and you're dead."

"Lucky, why don't you escort Jason out," Anna said and Lucky nodded.

"She's not going to bother you guys again," Lucky said as they stepped out.

"She won't," Jason said, and Lucky knew he would make good on this threat.

"You should go home, it's been a long day. I'm sure Sam is waiting."

"Yeah," Jason said, but knowing Sam wouldn't be there. "Keep me updated."

"I will."

* * *

Jason had fallen asleep on the couch after staying up, hoping that Sam would change her mind and come home. He woke up to someone knocking on the door. Glancing at the cable box, he noticed that it was about 11:30 and couldn't figure out who would be stopping by. He got up and started to think it was Sam, that maybe she forgot her keys. He opened the door and groaned, wishing he just stayed on the couch.

"Is it okay if I come in?" Elizabeth asked. She overheard Sam and Jason arguing in the hospital and figured this was her opportunity to take back what she wanted. What she deserved.

"No, go home, Elizabeth," he said, going to shut the door but she stopped it. "Why are you here?"

"I figured you would want someone to talk to. I overheard the way Sam yelled at you in the hospital earlier."

"I can't believe you're doing this again," he said, disbelief coloring his tone. "You never learn, do you?"

"I don't know what you mean," Elizabeth said, playing the victim as usual.

Sam had decided to come home after talking with her mom. Her and Jason still needed to talk things through, but she didn't want to keep him away from Danny any longer. Alexis said how worried he looked when she saw him in the hallway at the hospital. Sam knew he was concerned, she just needed to take a breather and get her head clear so she could be rational about this. She didn't want to either let it go after everything that happened today and wait for a bigger blowout to happen, or just keep fighting and make it worse. Danny was asleep in her arms as she stepped off the elevator, and she couldn't wait to put him in his bed, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw Elizabeth standing at her door and Jason talking to her. She almost got back on the elevator, but she wasn't going to let her chase her away from her home.

"Of course you know what I mean," Jason said, causing Sam to stand back and wait until this ended. She didn't want to wake up Danny, or risk Elizabeth doing something crazy. They've had enough after today. "You heard that Sam wasn't coming home and you decided to make your move. Just like you did when you came over here and we slept together, like you did when I pushed Sam away because I was being a jerk. You need to go home."

"I just wanted to be here for my friend."

"We are not friends!" he yelled and Sam saw Elizabeth jump. "I thought in the past we were, but I was wrong! You are nothing to me. I will never make that mistake again."

"When Sam breaks your heart again, I won't be here," Elizabeth said, trying to give him an ultimatum but it obviously wasn't working.

"Good! I don't want you here, I don't want you anywhere near me or my family."

"You don't mean that," she said.

"I've never meant anything more. Goodbye," he said and slammed the door in her face.

Sam watched as Elizabeth stared at the door, obviously shocked that Jason just did that to her. She finally turned around to leave, wiping tears from her eyes. Elizabeth was so wrapped up in herself that she never realized Sam was standing down the hall, hiding the best she could. Once the elevator doors shut, Sam headed down the hall and knocked on the door, not being able to reach her keys while she was holding Danny.

"I swear to God, I will call the cops," Jason said as he opened the door but froze when he saw it was Sam this time. "Sam."

"I couldn't grab my keys," she said. He took Danny out of her arms and moved so she could come in. "I saw you had a visitor."

"I told her to leave right away."

"I know, I heard some of it," she said with a small nod. "Even if I didn't, I'd believe you."

"Sam," he began to say, but she shook her head.

"It's been a long day. I didn't want to keep Danny from you, I know you were worried. He missed his dad."

"I'm worried about the both of you," he said. "I'm worried about us."

"We need to talk," she said. "Just not tonight."

"I know," he nodded. "I was, uh, planning on sleeping on the couch tonight since I didn't think you were coming home. I can still do that."

"You don't have to," she said quietly, her mouth turning up in a brief, small smile when she realized he still didn't like to sleep in their bed without her. "Do you want to put Danny to bed?"

"Yeah," he said.

They headed upstairs together, Sam heading to their bedroom so she could change into her pajamas. She climbed under the covers and rested her head on her pillow, the exhaustion of today finally overcoming her. Jason got into bed next to her and hesitantly placed his arm around her waist, unsure of what to do.

"Are we going to be okay?" he asked quietly. Sam turned his in arms so she could face him and rested her hands on his chest.

"I think so," she said.

"I love you, more than anything," he said, kissing her forehead. He looked down and saw she fell asleep. "I'll do anything to make this right, I promise."


	35. XXXV.

"Fair Samantha! Stone Cold!" Spinelli yelled as he knocked on the door. "It is your dearest friend who is highly concerned after discovering the events that unfolded last night from Maximista, who found out from the Original Blonde One who was told by her husband, the Badged Betrayer!"

"It's too early for him," Jason groaned as he stumbled down the stairs, Sam right behind him.

"He's not going to go away unless you answer the door," Sam said, a yawn breaking up her sentence.

"It's early, Spinelli," Jason said as he opened the door and let him in.

"My apologies, but I was concerned about the welfare of my dearest friends and godchild. Additionally, I am not accustomed to Stone Cold being such a late riser these days."

"Jason's going to make breakfast, stay and hang out," Sam said, waving him over to have him join her on the couch. "We're all okay, thanks for being worried."

"I heard Young Daniel has a cast on his arm. I'm sorry he has been injured so," Spinelli said sadly. "However, if I may be so bold to ask, can I sign his cast?"

"I'm sure he'd love that," Sam said with a laugh.

"Wonderful! I brought markers," Spinelli said, dumping out a ton of markers on the coffee table. "How is everything else?"

"I'm fine, the baby is fine. Just a very scary day yesterday," Sam said.

"I was also informed by Maximista about a slight disagreement between you and Stone Cold yesterday?" Spinelli said quietly. "Robin was across the hall for a girl's night, so I was told."

"A lot of unresolved stuff that needs to be out in the open, and it just came out yesterday," Sam said. "You know how he acted when he found out who he really was after living as Jake Doe for a year. He dismissed all of us like we meant nothing to him. It was more difficult knowing that the man I loved and shared all these amazing memories with refused to hear me out than knowing that he didn't remember them. I understood it was confusing for him, it just hurt knowing that our past life meant nothing to him because he forged a new one."

"I would have to agree with you on that," Spinelli said with a sad smile. "His unwillingness to reacquaint himself with the people of his past once his identity was revealed was more painful than him not remembering altogether."

"Mommy," Danny yelled from upstairs. Sam excused herself and went to get him.

"Good morning," she said as she sat down on his bed, running her fingers through his hair. "Daddy's making breakfast and Spinelli is here. You can come downstairs or stay in bed, whatever you want to do."

"My arm is itchy, he said, pointing to his cast. "I don't want it on anymore."

"I know, baby, but it's going to make you better. If you come downstairs, Spinelli has a surprise for you."

"Okay," he said with a small nod as he climb out of bed and tried to fix his pajamas with one hand but he was having trouble.

"I got it," Sam said, helping him out. "You'll get used to the cast."

"Uncle Lucas let me pick the color," Danny said as they walked downstairs. "He looked all over for all the different colors they had."

"Is blue your favorite color?"

"I think so," he said with a shrug. "Spinelli!"

"Danny!" Spinelli said just as enthusiastically. "That is a pretty spectacular cast."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," he nodded. "Want to know what's cool about casts?"

"Yeah!"

"You can write on them. You can have people sign them and draw pictures," Spinelli said and Danny looked at him in amazement. "I brought the necessary supplies for it."

"Let's do it!"

"After breakfast," Sam said, pulling Danny close. "And Mom gets to sign it first."

"Dad too!" Jason chimed in as he set the table.

"It was my idea, but I'll allow it," Spinelli said. "Pancakes?"

"Yay, pancakes!" Danny said as he ran over to the table.

"Looks good," Sam said when she walked over to Jason. He put his arm around her waist, but she didn't lean into him like she usually does. "I'm going to stop by Wyndemere later to see Nikolas."

"Okay," he said. "Do you want to talk tonight?"

"Um, maybe," she said, moving away from him to sit down. She knew they had to talk and since she was the one who brought it up, it wouldn't be fair of her to push it off. She was scared of what would happen. "Danny, Grandma Monica wanted to know how you were feeling. Do you want to go there tonight?"

"Yeah," he said. "Maybe I can have cookies for dinner there."

"They might make an exception," Jason said with a smile, knowing that was Sam's way of saying she was okay with talking about what happened tonight.

"I'm going to go over to Nikolas's house today too. Do you want to come with me to see Spencer, and then I'll bring you by Grandma's?"

"Okay," he nodded, shoving the last of his pancakes in his mouth. "Can I go pick out what toys I want to bring?"

"Finishing chewing, and then you can go," Jason said. "Be careful with your arm."

"Wait!" Spinelli yelled out. "We have to decorate his arm shield."

"Arm shield?" Jason repeated and shook his head. "Fine, Sam goes first."

"Obviously," she said with a smile as she grabbed a marker and wrote 'Mom' on the arm, then drew a heart around it. She handed the marker to Jason, who wrote 'Dad' next to what Sam drew. "That's all your putting?"

"I'm not artsy like you. Besides, it looks like he has a biker tattoo on his cast."

"Fitting since his dad is a biker," Sam said with a smirk as she began to doodle.

"Save some room for me," Spinelli said with a pout. "'Twas my idea, after all."

"This is so cool," Danny said as Spinelli finished up his drawing. "Can everyone do this?"

"If they want to," Sam said. "Now go get your stuff together."

"May I ask why Young Daniel was the chosen one to be taken?" Spinelli asked once Danny was upstairs.

"Because of us," Jason said with a sigh. "There's been this weird obsession with having a Cassadine-Quartermaine child and that's Danny."

"But Noble Emily and the Dashing Detective's union would have also produced a child of the same heritage – a Cassamaine, if you will."

"Cassamaine," Sam said with a laugh. "Emily isn't a Quartermaine by blood, that's the problem, isn't it?"

"Yeah, bloodline is everything," Jason said with a roll of his eyes as he repeated what Obrecht told him. "And because Alan cheated on Monica, and Mikkos cheated on Helena, and we both came from affairs, we're that much more special."

"All is well now? Dr. Demented is finally behind bars, the Vicious One has been long dead. Everything should be quiet so you both can prepare for your upcoming nuptials as well as the new mini Stone Cold or mini Fair Samantha on the way."

"I need you to find out if Victor Cassadine is still alive. Obrecht made it sound like he was."

"I will conduct that search right away," Spinelli said with a nod. "Once I make a discovery, I'll inform you immediately."

"Thanks," Jason said, waiting for Spinelli to leave to talk to Sam. "So, tonight?"

"Tonight," she nodded, reaching out for his hand. "You have anything to do this afternoon?"

"I was going to stop by Sonny's to talk to Carly. She called last night, but I wasn't in the mood to talk."

"Rafe went to PCU with Molly and Kristina to finalize everything and find out what he needs. I told him I'd take him shopping tomorrow for stuff," Sam said. "He's going to stay with Kiki and Dillon tonight."

"I didn't even hear him leave this morning."

"I caught him when I was on my way to the bathroom. He was going to leave a note, he didn't want to wake us," she said, getting up to start cleaning. "He's been doing really well, I'm happy for him."

"Yeah, he's a good kid," Jason agreed. "I'll clean up, go get dressed."

"Are you sure? I want to help."

"I can wash off a couple of dishes," he said, pulling her close and feeling grateful when she didn't pull away. "We're gonna figure everything out so we can finally have some peace."

"I know," she nodded, reaching up to kiss him. "We always do."

* * *

Sam and Danny walked up to Wyndemere, Danny pouting over the sling he had to wear that Lucas had dropped off before they left. Sam knew that sling wasn't going to last very long.

"Mommy, I can't move my arm," Danny complained as Sam knocked on the door.

"I know, that's because you're not supposed to," she explained again. "Your arm is really hurt right now and Uncle Lucas wants to make sure everything heals the best it can so you'll be all better and your arm will be back to normal."

"Still annoying," he grumbled.

"Sam, it's good to see you, Laura said when she opened the door. "Hi Danny."

"Hi," he said quietly.

"He's not too happy today," Sam explained as they walked inside. "Is Nikolas home? I was hoping to talk to him."

"He's in the living room with Spencer," Laura said. "He told me what happened, that's terrible. I'm so glad you all are okay."

"Thank you," Sam said before walking into the living room, where Nikolas and Spencer were playing cards.

"Any threes?" Nikolas asked.

"Go fish, Father," Spencer said smugly. Danny walked up behind him and laughed, seeing that Spencer did have a three.

"He plays cards like Aunt Tracy," Danny said through his laughter.

"We'll start over later," Nikolas said, rolling his eyes at his son. "Hey, what brings you two by?"

"I wanted to say thank you," Sam said as she sat down on the couch. "You helped get Danny back, I can't tell you how much that means to me."

"Once Spencer said the boy looked like Danny and that wasn't you, I couldn't not try to help," he said, looking over at Danny and frowning when he noticed his cast. "She broke his arm?"

"Yeah," Sam said sadly. "When she grabbed him, he must have resisted and it's fractured in a couple of spots."

"I'm so sorry."

"He wants everyone to sign his cast," Sam said, a small smile on her face as she looked over and saw Spencer drawing on Danny's cast. "Spinelli got him excited over that."

"That's good, I'd love to sign it, if he wants me to," Nikolas said. "Lucky told me what happened at the PCPD. That's an insane reason to take him."

"I know," she sighed. "They're going to have two perfect Cassamaine children."

"Cassamaine?"

"Another Spinelli-ism," Sam said with a shake of her head. "Even if you and Emily did have a child, it wouldn't have been what they wanted."

"I'm trying to find out why exactly."

"I don't think there is a real reason for it, I think they're just crazy," Sam said with a shrug. "Any one of the Quartermaine's can inherit the fortune, and Michael is the one running ELQ where it all came from. Why my son?"

"I don't know," he said, wishing he had an answer. "I would like to know before you have your baby and give them a second child to target."

"This is a mess," Sam said with a groan. "Obrecht is going to prison, but apparently she made it sound like Victor Cassadine is still alive. I won't feel comfortable until everyone involved is either truly dead or locked up."

"Me either," Nikolas agreed. "Do you have any suspicions about Valentin?"

"He's been helpful this whole time, and he says he's the one who killed Helena, so I don't know. Do you?"

"I just find it strange how it was rumored that Helena feared him the most, but he comes to Port Charles and just wants to work in the hospital under an alias? Something's not right."

"I can have Spinelli look into it, he's looking into Victor, but we barely found anything on Valentin. Robin is how we figured it all out."

"I'll see what I can find out. My family's employees have begun to warm up to me again now that Helena's been dead for a while."

"Just be careful. Valentin still has some pull," Sam said as she stood up. "Let me know what you find out."

"I will," he said, standing up as well. "Would you two like to stay for lunch?"

"I have to bring him over to Monica's, he's been asking for cookies all morning," Sam said. "Maybe another day."

"Sounds good," he said, happy that they were back on good terms. "Did you know Elizabeth and Franco were friends?"

"Kristina saw them talking one day when she was at the hospital," Sam said. "I don't know, that's a lot of crazy there."

"I had to stop up by the hospital this morning to take care of some business and I saw him comforting her."

"Probably because Jason kicked her out last night. She heard us fighting in the hospital yesterday and decided to come by the penthouse to comfort him," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "She's pathetic."

"She doesn't learn," Nikolas said with a sigh, feeling sorry for his old friend.

"Nikolas, will you sign it?" Danny asked, holding his arm up as high as it could go.

"I would be honored," Nikolas said, taking the marker from Spencer.

"Thanks for helping my dad save me from the crazy lady," Danny said.

"I'm glad you're okay," Nikolas said, giving Danny a hug. "Once your arm is better, maybe you can help me convince Spencer over here to try out a sport."

"Baseball is fun," Danny said, looking over at Spencer who's face was less than thrilled.

"We'll see," Spencer said, obviously not wanting to do it.

"Come on, Danny. Time to go to Grandma's," Sam said. "Put your sling back on."

"Cookies!" Danny yelled, running for the door without his sling.

"He's so stubborn," Sam said with a sigh as she followed him out.

"Takes after his parents," Nikolas said with a smirk.

* * *

"Why didn't you call me back and tell me what happened!" Carly said as she opened the door before Jason even had a chance to knock, spotting him on the security cameras.

"I was a little preoccupied yesterday," he said, stepping inside. "That's why I'm here today, to tell you what happened."

"But I already know what happened. Kristina came here freaking out after Alexis told her," Carly said. "I always find out everything through other people."

"You done?" he asked, following her into the living room where Sonny was on the phone.

"Yeah, sorry. You know me, gotta get my selfish rant out of the way before I can be a normal person," she said with a sigh. "How are Danny and Sam doing? How are you doing?"

"They're okay. Danny's arm is fractured from when Obrecht pulled him, so he's got a cast on now."

"That's horrible," Carly said. "And Sam? Kristina said she passed out. Is the baby okay?"

"They're both fine, but I was nervous when I saw Patrick carrying her out to the ambulance."

"I couldn't imagine how you felt," Carly said sympathetically. "Why are you here and not home with them?"

"Funny how she does a complete 180, isn't it," Sonny said with a smirk once he hung up. "I'm glad they're both okay."

"Thank you," Jason said. "Sam's dropping Danny off at Monica's."

"I'm surprised you let them out of your sight."

"Well," Jason sighed. "Sam's kind of pissed at me."

"For what now?"

"For how I handled things when you told me who I was."

"Oh, it took her this long to finally say something? I'm surprised," Carly said and Jason gave her a look, not expecting that response. "I'm sorry, I love you, but you were such an ass to her once you found out you were Jason Morgan and not Jake Doe."

"I know I didn't handle it well, I found out I had this entire life here in Port Charles with people I knew. How would you handle it?"

"I don't know, but hopefully better than you did," Carly scoffed.

"Was it really that bad?" Jason asked, looking at Sonny for help.

"You made assumptions based upon things others told you and continued to believe those assumptions," Sonny said. "The Jason I knew never made assumptions about people. He let them prove themselves and make their own mistakes. He wasn't judgmental."

"I'm sorry," he said, thinking back to how he was wrong about how Sonny and him became friends.

"I'm not just speaking of myself, you made assumptions about what Sam wanted without talking to her first," Sonny said. "She stopped by a few nights after you were supposed to marry Elizabeth and said how she dropped off your bike."

"Yeah, she told me it was mine, and that a lot of things were mine," Jason said, remembering how confused he felt after that, and how it felt strange going back to Elizabeth's bed. He ended up sleeping on the couch that night.

"She was worried about how that sounded to you and stressed over it," Sonny said and Carly agreed, remembering when Sam had come by.

"She didn't want to push you to think she wanted to jump back into being married. She was still in love with Patrick and wanted the life they planned, but was so in love with you that she couldn't imagine being with another man knowing you were alive and you two weren't given another shot," Carly said. "She wanted it to be on your terms though."

"And I told her I wanted a divorce," he said with a sigh.

"You didn't even want to consider spending time with her after that," Sonny said.

"Which was ridiculous because you two were friends when you thought you were Jake Doe. You got to know Sam and knew how great she was, but once you find out you're married you pushed her away and wanted nothing."

"You're right," he said. "I didn't know how to handle it."

"You handled it like shit," Carly said bluntly. "I'm glad she finally called you out on this, it's about damn time. I probably would have said something if she didn't."

"Thanks," he said with a groan as he stood up to leave, not finding them very helpful.

"How do you plan on making it up to her?"

"We're going to talk tonight," he said. "Despite the time that's passed and everything that has happened, it's still me and Sam. We can get through anything."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sonny said.

"Don't screw it up!" Carly said as she stood up to walk him out.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Jason rolled his eyes. "Why am I always the wrong one lately?"

"Oh honey," Carly said with a laugh. "I'll give you a pass for things when you thought you were Jake Doe, but some things you did once you found out you were Jason made me want to smack you upside the head and have Max and Milo drag you home to the penthouse. But, as I learned from a very dear friend of mine, you needed to make your own choices."

"Since when did you ever listen to me?"

"When I thought I'd never see you again," she said. "Good luck tonight, you might need it."

* * *

"Jason, I'm home. I-oh, wow," Sam said as she walked into the penthouse. Jason had set up the table with candles and had dinner set out already. "You've been busy."

"I figured you and the baby would be hungry," he said, walking over to her.

"Is that what I think it is," Sam asked with a smirk, touching the collar of the shirt he was wearing.

"The blue palm-tree shirt you wanted me to wear so badly on our honeymoon? Yes, it is," he said, taking her hand and walking her to the table.

"Where did you find that?"

"Storage unit," he said. "It's still a god-awful shirt."

"So why are you wearing it?"

"Because I'd do anything for you if it makes you happy, even if it means wearing a ridiculous shirt like this one," he said.

"Jason," she sighed, not sure if she was ready to talk.

"Eat first," he said knowingly. "I cooked."

"One of the reasons I'm extremely glad to have you back. There is only so much mac and cheese I can make."

"You cook?"

"I make it from the box," she said and noticed the look of disgust that filled his face. "Hey! Danny loves it. On the nights you weren't home I'd make it."

"That's terrible," he shook his head.

"At least I improved," she said with a smirk. "Still can't make a BLT. You didn't fall in love with me for my cooking, anyway."

"I fell in love with you for a lot more than that, your terrible cooking included."

Once they finished eating, Sam knew the conversation they needed to have couldn't be put off any longer. Jason felt nervous, which was something he wasn't use to. Sam had the power to make him feel like he could do anything and lose everything at the same time. Their relationship was everything to him because she was the only woman who truly loved him for who he was.

"When I found out I was Jason after living as Jake Doe for a year, I had never felt so lost before. I built this new life for myself with a family and a woman I thought I loved thinking that no one was looking for me, and then I find out its you. You became my friend after I tried to kill you and I was so grateful for that. To be honest, I can remember a couple of times wishing that you weren't with Patrick when we met," he said with a small laugh. "To find out I was Jason after hearing the way you spoke about him, well me, and how much you loved me, it was a lot to handle. And I didn't handle it right."

"I didn't want you to step back into your old life like nothing happened, I knew that wasn't even an option. You were there on the pier when I told you about you dying, and on our anniversary when Mrs. Yi knew right away."

"Should have believe her."

"Yeah, we should have," she smiled. "After you found out you weren't Jake Doe, but Jason Morgan, you pushed me so far away and it hurt. All I could think of was Danny finally being able to meet you, and it was like you wanted nothing to do with us because you already had a family with Elizabeth."

"I thought moving forward with the life I built was the better option. I was scared to start from scratch again, or to get thrown into Jason's life without having my memories. I went from believing I had no family to finding out everyone who cared about me was in this town and people I got to know. I didn't want to give you the wrong impression if I started coming around and confuse you more, but I also didn't want to tempt myself by doing that."

"I would have never pushed a relationship on you just because we were married. I just wanted to give our son the chance to know you."

"I know, and I realized that. Every time I would leave the house, Elizabeth would ask me if I was going to see you, like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even though I'd reassure her I loved her, it started to sound insincere. I wanted to see you and Danny, and it didn't help that I was attracted to you before as Jake. Knowing that you were my wife, that was something that made me nervous I'd act on my feelings and put us both in an uncomfortable position."

"But you did. You kissed me that day."

"And at the time I shouldn't have. Despite whatever conflicted feelings we had, we found love with other people and it wasn't fair to them," he said, moving to sit next to Sam when he saw the tears in her eyes. "If I pushed my conscious aside, I would have wanted a lot more than a kiss."

"You believed Elizabeth over me when I told her she knew about who you were. That hurt the most because we never lied to each other. When we gave ourselves a second chance after Mexico, we promised we wouldn't lie to each other because that's what ended us the first time."

"I didn't know what to do," he said with a sigh. "I knew you were right, which is why I went back to you after I kicked you out – which I should have never done. I felt like a fool and I didn't want you to see me like that. You were the one who wanted to help me, but I stayed with Elizabeth after she told me countless times that I shouldn't look into my past. My life wasn't my own and I had enough, but my reaction was toward the wrong person."

"I get being angry and confused," Sam said with a small nod. "You really do want to be with me, right? I just, I get nervous sometimes that this isn't the life you want anymore. That you only came back because that's what you thought you needed to do."

"Without my memories, I wanted you. I thought you were the most beautiful woman in this town. When you told me about your past as a con artist, I admired you because you owned the things you did and came so far in life. When I would see you with Danny, I'd have these feelings that he was my son but I'd think that I wasn't lucky enough to have a family with a woman like you. After everything settled and I called you that morning to talk to you about that infamous pink outfit, I couldn't wait to get over here and spend time with you. I could finally act on how I felt when we first met and I guess knowing we were married gave me the confidence I needed, but also blinded me from what I did that was wrong. I should have apologized a long time ago for how I treated you and told you this from the start. I didn't want to ruin what we were starting."

"How do you feel now that you have your memories back?"

"Is that a serious question?" he asked, picking her up and sitting her on his lap.

"Yes," she rolled her eyes. "Do you feel like I trapped you into staying with me?"

"Absolutely not," he said, pressing his lips against her shoulder. "Knowing that we found our way back to each other again when I had no memories, it just cemented the fact that we belong together. There is no one else I want but you. You're the only woman who has allowed me to have things I never thought I could have. You've been the best mom to Danny, and this little one is going to be so lucky to have you. I'm so lucky to have you, and I'm sorry I forgot that and I'm even more sorry that I made you feel unwanted. I've never wanted anyone more, and I never will."

"Thank you for telling me this," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder. "And thank you for finding this ridiculous shirt that I still love. I almost gave you a pass when I saw you had it on."

"You mean if I just stayed quiet, the shirt would have said everything?"

"You'd have to wear the shirt forever, then, and I know how much you hate it," Sam said with a smirk. "My favorite thing about us was how we could always talk to each other, and even though you hated it, you'd always tell me how you felt. I always got to see a different side of Jason Morgan that no one else saw."

"I never felt comfortable talking to anyone else like this," he said.

"I'm glad I'm that person for you."

"I know I'm not the most romantic guy out there, but I promise I'll make sure you know how I much I love you and how thankful I am that you took me back everyday."

"You already do that," she said, taking his face in her hands. "You have always made me feel so special and loved. I'm sorry I stayed upset over this for so long."

"Don't apologize, it was long overdue. Carly said she would have brought it up if you didn't," Jason grimaced as Sam laughed.

"I'm not surprised," she said. "This shirt is nice and all, but I still think I liked option number four the best."

"Really?" he said with a smirk, his hand brushing up and down her thigh as she began to unbutton his shirt.

"Yeah, option four was my favorite," she said and laughed as he stood up quickly and carried her upstairs. He laid her down on the bed and paused, staring at how perfect she looked and just amazed that she was his.

"We're okay, right," he asked, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Better than ever," she said, leaning up to kiss him.


	36. XXXVI.

"How is it that your wedding is in three weeks and you didn't think of getting a dress?" Maxie asked as she paced around her office. "Sam, three weeks to get a wedding dress is impossible!"

"I didn't know how big I would be, and things have been a little busy for me," Sam said.

"We can't let out your wedding dress from the last wedding? Not like any of us got to see it since you two eloped," Maxie said, rolling her eyes.

"Please, Maxie. What good is it having a best friend in fashion if she can't pull off the impossible for a wedding."

"I'll see what I can do. I'm good, but I don't know if I'm a miracle worker," Maxie huffed.

"Don't we have samples left from the summer wedding photo shoot we did that we keep forgetting to send back?" Nina offered. "You can try some of those on and see if you like anything."

"Those aren't loaners though, and the designer is like two steps away from sending me hate mail because we haven't sent them back."

"I'll deal with the designer," Julian said, overhearing the conversation as he walked in. "Whatever dress Sam likes I'll pay for."

"Dad, you don't have to do that," Sam said, fully planning on paying for whatever dress Maxie could find.

"I want to. I missed out on your entire life and obviously buying a wedding dress isn't going to fix that, but you're my little girl," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Go see if there's anything you like."

"That's beautiful," Nina said. "A father buying his daughter's love."

"Nina!" Maxie said. "Just because you hate Julian and he's potentially on my shit list at the moment, doesn't mean he needs to buy Sam's love."

"They think I'm trying to get rid of Crimson," Julian whispered in Sam's ear.

"Well, are you?" she said, not putting it past him to do that.

"Not anymore," he muttered. Sam rolled her eyes, but chose not to address it. "I have some phone calls to make, have fun shopping."

"Thanks, Dad," she said as she looked at the racks of wedding dresses that were in the back. "No wonder the designer is pissed."

"Yeah, he wanted these back ASAP," Maxie said as she walked in. "A lot of these are high-fashion. I'm not saying you can't pull it off, I'm just saying I don't see you in them."

"I want something traditional looking."

"But you have to look hot. I got roped into helping Elizabeth with her dress and she wanted traditional too," Maxie rolled her eyes. "I could have found her a nicer dress, but I hate her so I didn't really care. Now, your boobs always looked fantastic but being pregnant has made them look more amazing so I say we showcase the girls, I don't think Jason would be opposed."

"I don't want to look bigger than I am either."

"You're barely showing and your like five months pregnant."

"How about this?" Sam said, pulling a dress from the rack.

"No, you'll be swimming in all that tulle. Put that back," Maxie shook her head.

"Don't pick anything without me!" Kristina yelled as she ran into the back room.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked, smiling as Alexis and Molly walked in behind Kristina.

"Julian called and knew we wouldn't want to miss this," Alexis said, hugging Sam. "Find anything yet?"

"No," Sam shook her head.

"No offense, but I need you two to sit down," Maxie said, pointing to chairs in the corner. "Kristina, you get two picks. If they're both awful, you sit too."

"Score," Kristina said excitedly as she headed to look around.

"Start trying these on," Maxie said, hanging up a few dresses behind the curtain.

"Okay, I feel like I'm like a cake topper in this one," Sam said as she stepped out. "It's too poofy, I'm too short."

"You look like a princess, but I'm not a fan," Maxie shook her head. "Next!"

"I thought she looked beautiful," Alexis said and Molly nodded.

"She looked like a white ball of fluff," Kristina said, scrunching her nose at the dress.

"This is why you two are sitting," Maxie said.

And I feel like Mother Earth in this one," Sam said, stepping out in an empire waist dress. "All I need is a flower crown."

"That's so symbolic," Molly swooned.

"Try on another dress, sweetheart," Alexis said, shaking her head at her youngest daughter. Sam tried on a few more dresses, all beautiful but not for her.

"Crap, I have a doctor's appointment today," Sam said, completely forgetting about it until her phone sent her a reminder. She slipped into the next dress and paused as she stared at herself in the mirror. She stepped out from the curtain with a huge smile on her face. "I think this is the one."

"You look beautiful," Alexis said, trying not to cry. "That dress is stunning."

"Wow, I knew I had good taste, but damn," Kristina said. "You look fantastic."

"I think we have a winner!" Maxie said as she clapped her hands. "I will have Julian call the designer and smooth things over as he offers to pay for a dress we were supposed to return a month ago."

"Thank you for this," Sam said, hugging Maxie. "Promise me you won't let anything happen to this dress."

"I promise. I will guard this dress with my life because it is so perfect. Jason isn't going to know what hit him when you walk down the aisle," Maxie said as she wrapped the dress up. "Because you look so amazing and because you didn't even wear your wedding dress last time."

"He saw me in it," Sam said as she got dressed. "His reaction was everything."

"Do we have a winner?" Julian asked as he walked in back.

"She looks beautiful," Alexis said as she kissed Julian's cheek. "Thank you for this."

"Anything for my girls," he said sincerely.

"It means a lot that you offered to do this," Sam said, giving him a hug. "I hate to run, but I have a doctor's appointment."

"Oh, can I come?" Kristina asked.

"Yeah, sure," Sam nodded. "I think Jason is meeting me at the hospital, unless he forgot which I wouldn't blame him because I forgot too."

"Cool, let's go," Kristina said, linking arms with Sam as they walked out of Crimson.

"Maxie," Nina said, walking over to her and noticing the dress that Sam had picked out. "Isn't that the most expensive dress in the collection?"

"Yup," Maxie nodded.

"Does Julian know?"

"Nope."

"I'm sticking around for this phone call," Nina said with a smirk, laughing as she walked away. "Those Davis girls have good taste."

* * *

"Any particular reason you wanted to come with me?" Sam asked as they stepped off the elevator.

"I am the baby's godmother," Kristina said and Sam gave her a look. "I also went on a date last night and Molly won't stop being annoying about it."

"How was your date?"

"Great, he was sweet," Kristina said and smiled when Sam didn't say anything about her date being a guy, especially since she thought she had feelings for a woman not too long ago. "This is why I came with you."

"You're trying to figure yourself out. You can date whoever you want to do that," Sam said. "Just promise me if he makes you uncomfortable or you decide boys aren't your thing, you don't stick it out because you think that's what you're supposed to do."

"I won't," she said.

"Good morning," Robin said cheerfully as they approached the check-in desk. "Seeing Dr. Westbourne today?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Jason should be on his way, I texted him before but I don't know if he was busy or not. We kind of forgot about the appointment."

"Can't blame you, things have been crazy," Robin said. "Emma was really happy to see Danny last night."

"They got really close," Sam said with a smile, following Robin to the exam room.

"You getting ready for the ceremony?"

"She just picked out her dress this morning, it's amazing," Kristina said. "Jason isn't going to know what hit him."

"I'm glad you guys decided to do this. After everything you two have been through, it's pretty wonderful."

"Sorry I'm late, I just dropped Danny off in Monica's office," Jason said as he walked in. "Hey Robin, Kristina."

"Britt should be on her way," Robin said just as the door opened. "Like I said."

"I apologize, but I was checking to see if Dr. Lee was available," Britt said, looking a little frazzled.

"Why? Are you busy? We did have an appointment, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I just figured after what my mother did, I would step down as your doctor," she said. "I'm so sorry."

"I want you to be my doctor," Sam said and looked at Jason, who nodded in agreement.

"Really?"

"It's not your fault she tried to take Danny," Jason said. "I mean, it isn't, right?"

"No! I swear, if I had known what she was planning, I would have called the cops right away," Britt said quickly. "I haven't seen her since she messed with your bike, which I'm sorry about too."

"They're her mistakes, not yours. She's going to prison. Can't say I'm sorry about that, though," Sam said.

"She's caused a lot of people pain, I just hope she stays away this time," Britt said. "You're really sure you want me to still be your doctor."

"Absolutely," Sam nodded.

"Let's get this appointment on the road, I want to know if I'm having a niece or a nephew," Kristina said excitedly.

"Maybe we want it to be a surprise," Sam said as she laid down on the table.

"I just want the baby," Jason said, not wanting to piss off either Davis woman.

"How about this," Kristina said. "We do a gender reveal when you renew your vows. I'll go have a cake made with either pink or blue inside and you two can cut into it to find out."

"You can't keep a secret to save your life," Sam said and Kristina gave her a look. "Where'd you plan on getting the cake made?"

"The Metro Court."

"Where Carly would see what was going on, freak out and probably overnight a ton of baby clothes."

"Please! I won't look at the results then, and I'll get somewhere else to make the cake," Kristina begged.

"Fine," Sam sighed, looking over at Jason who shrugged. "You can't look at it."

"I swear," Kristina said excitedly.

"I'll tell Carly she can't know, maybe she'll listen," Jason said and Sam laughed.

"The three of us will go to the Metro Court after this," Sam said.

"You guys are funny," Britt said as she shook her head. "The baby is doing fine, looks healthy. I'll go put the gender in an envelope for you and I'm very happy for the both of you."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you," Britt said. "Not many people here have given me a second chance, and I'm trying to be a better person. I can't thank you enough for seeing that."

"I'll come out so I can get the envelope," Kristina said, following Britt into the hallway.

"You know she's going to look to see if it's a boy or a girl, right," Jason said as he helped Sam off the table.

"I know."

"And you know Carly is going to find out and buy more baby clothes than we can probably fit."

"I know."

"You're amazing, you know that," Jason said, bringing her close for a kiss. She would do anything to make her family happy, even putting up with their crazy antics.

"It doesn't matter to us what we have, as long as the baby is healthy. Let them have their fun," Sam said, taking his hand as they walked out. "Let's go get Danny so we can go to the Metro Court and eat."

"You ate like three waffles this morning."

"But the baby's hungry," Sam pouted.

"I guess since its for the baby," he smirked, but that smirk disappeared when he saw Franco and Elizabeth talking with his son. "Sam."

"Breathe," Sam said, knowing she had to be the calm one in this situation. "Danny, sweetheart, it's time to go."

"Mommy, look what I colored," he said happily.

"That's great, baby. Where's Grandma?"

"Danny!" Monica said as she ran over and noticed Franco was standing there in shock and Liz looked smug. "I'm sorry, I stopped to speak to one of the doctors and he ran off."

"It's fine," Sam said, holding Danny's hand as she rubbed Jason's arm, trying to get him to calm down.

"Don't you want to thank Franco for keeping an eye on Danny?" Elizabeth said.

"I will never thank Franco for anything," Sam said calmly, but Jason growled behind her. "He knows why. He doesn't deserve anything from me or my family, and he's lucky I decided to stay calm because if I didn't, Jason here probably would have thrown him out the window by now. I can't say he'll be so lucky the next time."

"I apologize, I didn't realize that was Danny," he said and Jason scoffed in disbelief. "What? I haven't seen him since I kidnapped him that one time."

"That's enough," Monica said. "Nurse Webber, you have some bedpans to change. Franco, go color something."

"Yes, ma'am," Franco said, quickly walking away from the scene.

"Sam and Jason were really rude to you," Elizabeth said as she followed him.

"Rightfully so," Franco mumbled. "I'm trying to do better, I really didn't know that was Danny. Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"I didn't see the problem," she shrugged. "I'm fine with you around my boys and you kidnapped my youngest."

"Which I'm sorry for," he said, pausing for a moment at how nonchalantly she brought that up. "I tormented them in the worst possible way, and Danny is the child I allowed them to believe was mine."

"Sam's no saint herself," Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Regardless, it would have been nice to have a heads up who the kid playing with my crayons was," Franco said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be a problem," she said, not meaning a word of her apology. "I'm going to get started on those bedpans."

"If you ever get bored, I have some paint to color coordinate," he said with a smile.

* * *

"Your blood pressure back to normal yet?" Sam asked as they pulled into the Metro Court garage.

"Almost," he sighed. "Seeing him with our son. That wasn't okay."

"I agree," she said, getting out of the car.

"Did Britt give you pregnancy happy pills? I'm surprised you didn't stab him in the neck with a used syringe," Kristina said as they walked into the hotel.

"It crossed my mind. I didn't need Jason to actually kill him, and the stress isn't good for the baby," Sam said. "He goes near Danny again, all bets are off."

"Diane is the best in the business, I'm sure she'd get the charges dropped," Kristina said with a smirk. "Carly! I'm ordering a cake, you can't know about it, my dad is paying for it. I'll be in the kitchen!"

"What was that about?" Carly asked as she hugged Sam and Jason hello before taking Danny from Jason.

"You'll find out," Sam said. "Is there an open table? I really want pasta. Oh, and grilled asparagus, and maybe some french fries."

"Let's go satisfy the baby mama's cravings," Carly laughed. "How about we get this one some ice cream to start?"

"Yeah!" Danny yelled excitedly.

"Healthy," Jason rolled his eyes.

"What? I heard Kristina is his favorite aunt. I need to fix that," Carly said as she sat Danny down at the table. "I'll go get Kiki."

"Rafe has been doing well at Kelly's," Sam said as she scanned the menu. "He's saved up a lot of money."

"I know, he tried to pay me rent the other day," Jason said. "I'm pretty sure I laughed in his face and told him he needed to keep the pink room pink for that one."

"He's trying," Sam smiled.

"I never took a dime from Spinelli, no way am I taking money from a kid who needs help," Jason said, smiling when he saw the way Sam was looking at him. "What?"

"I love how kind-hearted you are," she said with a shrug. "Not many people expect it."

"Not many people deserve it," he grumbled, thinking back to earlier.

"Hey guys, Carly said to come right over here because Sam was starving," Kiki said with a smile. "What can I get you all?"

"Ice cream!" Danny said.

"How about I promise to bring out ice cream once you finish real food, like chicken fingers, or pasta, or whatever you want that isn't 95% sugar."

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll have some mac and cheese, please."

"Anything for you," Kiki said, ruffling his hair. "And for mom and dad?"

"Just a burger," Jason said.

"The pasta that's always on the special's menu, and the grilled asparagus, and I'll eat Jason's fries," Sam said, handing the menu to Kiki. "How's everything?"

"Really good," she beamed. "Things have been great with Dillon, and I love having Rafe around."

"We were just talking about how well he's been doing," Sam said. "Have you seen Morgan?"

"I have," she nodded, sitting down in Carly's empty seat. "It was hard, he told me that he had hoped we could try things again once he got better. I just couldn't do it. I love him, but we turn into the worst versions of ourselves. We're better off as friends."

"He needs friends," Jason said. "He's been through a lot."

"I know, and I would never not want him in my life. But romantically, we just can't make it work. Anyway, let me go get this order in."

"Yeah, I might order the rest of the menu," Sam smirked.

"Okay," Carly said loudly, placing her hands on her hips as she walked over to the table. "First thing, why wasn't I called for wedding dress shopping?"

"Take that up with my dad. I just planned on having Maxie pick something for me," Sam said. "Next."

"Why does Kristina know the baby's gender and I don't?"

"I told you," Jason said with a smirk as Sam groaned. "Kristina was just supposed to hand the envelope to the baker and tell them if it's a girl to make the inside pink and if it's a boy to make it blue. She wasn't supposed to actually know what we're having. It's supposed to be a surprise."

"I would like to keep it a surprise," Sam said as she looked up at Carly. "I know you, and I know you're going to find out. Just please keep it between the two of you. I want to be surprised when I cut into the cake at the ceremony."

"You're going to do a reveal too?" Carly asked and they nodded. "Oh, I'm so excited! I promise I'll keep it a secret."

"Notice how she didn't promise not to look," Jason said as Carly walked away. Sam nodded as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Everyone is going to know what we're having before us," she sighed.

"Only three more weeks to go," Jason said, holding Sam's hand on the table. "When I dropped Danny off, I ran into Emily."

"Oh," Sam said, taking a piece of bread from the basket on the table. "She mention me?"

"Well, yeah, kind of," he shrugged. "She's just confused."

"I know I should just leave it in the past with everything else and move forward," Sam said with a sigh. "I just can't stop myself from thinking that if she never said anything to Elizabeth and didn't dismiss what we had so easily, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe we would have been married longer, been on our third kid by now."

"Or we would have broken up anyway because you didn't know how to love yourself on your own and I didn't fully appreciate it what we had enough to really fight for you," Jason said. "You used to tell me things happened for a reason."

"I hate it when you make sense," Sam said, tossing a piece of her bread at him. "I'll think things over, how's that? I can't keep it all bottled in anymore."

"Thank you," Jason said, knowing how conflicted she felt not getting along with Emily after all these years. "So, when do you think someone's going to send us a gender-specific baby gift?"

"I give it a week."


	37. XXXVII.

Sam woke up with the biggest smile on her face. Today was the day her and Jason renew their vows and promise each other again that they're going to continue to love each other forever. She rolled over and frowned when she saw Jason was lying next to her, but an envelope with her name written on it instead.

' _Sam, I was told by Kristina and Molly that I wasn't allowed to be here this morning because it was girls only. I tried to convince them that since we're already married it didn't matter, but they were having none of that. You Davis girls are stubborn. I can't wait to see you in your dress walking down the aisle toward me. I love you so much, and I'm counting down the minutes until it's just me, you, and Danny in Hawaii – making new and better memories in the place that has meant so much to the both of us._ '

Sam re-read the note twice before putting it back in the envelope and placing it in her nightstand. Jason was never one to be open with his emotions, so when he did little things like that, it meant so much more to her and reminded her how much they loved each other. She brushed her teeth and washed her face before heading downstairs, where her living room was filled with people.

"Already? It's like ten in the morning," Sam said to the crowd.

"We got here early to get Jason out," Molly said. "The groom can't see his bride before the wedding."

"One, we're already married; and two, on the night before our actual wedding, he found me in the yard and we decided to elope," Sam said.

"You'll see him later," Alexis said.

"It's sweet how much she misses him," Carly said. "But a couple hours won't kill either of you. Jason was impossible to kick out of here. Danny just kind of yawned and mumbled something."

"He's not really a morning person, takes after his mom," Sam said. "Where's Maxie with my dress."

"On her way, Julian is driving her to make sure nothing happened to it," Alexis said.

"Yeah, after he found out how much it cost I thought he was going to pass out," Molly laughed. "I thought he was flustered when he asked us if it was okay to marry mom, but that took the cake."

"I offered to pay for it," Sam said. "I have more than enough saved."

"The shock wore off quickly," Alexis said. "He really wanted to do that for you."

"Sonny got a good laugh about that one," Carly smirked.

"He shouldn't be laughing too hard," Alexis said. "Krissy picked out the dress and she's his oldest daughter."

"I can't help it I have expensive taste," she shrugged. "Dad knows by now, he forever regrets giving me a credit card and offering to pay for it."

"I am here! The dress is perfect! I would have been here sooner if Julian didn't drive slower than a snail," Maxie said as she let herself in.

"I had to be cautious," he said. "I'll leave you girls to have fun."

"I'd tell you to go by Sonny's but I don't think that's such a good idea," Sam said as she hugged her dad.

"I will pass on that offer, but thanks," he laughed. "I'm very happy for you, Sam. Not many people get a chance to experience the love I've seen that you and Jason share, so I'm glad you are getting another shot."

"Thank you," she said, trying not to cry. "That means a lot."

"I'll let you girls get back to your girl time," he said, Maxie rolling her eyes at him.

"That dress must have cost a fortune if he dealt with Maxie to bring it here," Diane said to Alexis, who nodded and hummed in agreement. "Sam, I know it's just a vow renewal, but since Jason is my best client and seeing you stand by him through everything has been surprisingly inspiring, I got you a little something."

"If it's handcuffs, I don't want to know," Alexis shook her head as she walked over to the table to grab a bagel.

"No, it's a bit more sentimental than that, although not as fun. I don't think Jason and Sam need to spice up their love life, especially after they were arrested for solicitation that one time," Diane smirked as Maxie started cracking up.

"Jason was not soliciting me!" Sam said.

"That sounds like a good story," Carly laughed.

"So what did Diane give you?" Alexis said, wanting to change the subject.

"How did you get these?" Sam asked, turning the picture frame around to show that it was pictures of her and Jason in the interrogation room at the PCPD.

"Spoke to Spinelli, he did the work, I just arranged them in the frame," Diane shrugged. "You two spent quite some time there."

"That's how we met. We both got brought in for aiding and abetting Sonny," Sam said, noticing the picture in the corner. "This is really sweet, thank you Diane."

"You're welcome," she said, hugging her.

"Damn, you two really are like a real life Bonnie and Clyde," Kristina said as she looked at the pictures. "Wait, that's not Sam. She never had red hair."

"And that is a story for another day," Sam said, taking the picture frame from Kristina and putting it on the mantle.

"I hope you still have those boots, or else I might have to buy you two another gift," Diane whispered to Sam, who just smirked and nodded. "Good girl."

"Sorry, we were running late," Monica said as she walked in with Emily behind her. "Had to make a stop."

"Is that pictures of Jason at the police station?" Emily said, noticing the picture right away. "How … romantic?"

"I have a gift as well, something old that I'll think you'll appreciate," Alexis said as she handed Sam a box. "I was going through some boxes we have in the attic and I happened to find it. Must have gotten misplaced when we both were moving."

"Mom," Sam said quietly as she pulled out the necklace that held the 'ring' Jason originally gave her.

"I would have given it to you earlier, but I figured I'd save it for now. Especially with how you tormented your poor mother."

"He did have a ring," Sam smiled as she put it on her neck.

"Oh, you don't have to wear it today," Alexis said. "Really. I just thought I'd return it for, you know, sentimental value."

"No, this was my original engagement ring," Sam smirked.

"I think it's sweet," Molly said. "Jason didn't want to put off being engaged to Sam any longer."

"Can't believe my son proposed with a lugnut," Monica said with a shake of her head.

"Molly and I have something new for you!" Kristina said, handing Sam their gift. "Well, it's not really for you, but you have everything and you're kind of difficult to shop for."

"What is it?" Sam said, opening the card and finding pictures of bedroom sets taped inside.

"We're getting the baby a bedroom set," Molly said. "We don't know the gender yet, so we picked a couple that we thought you would like that would go with either color scheme. We want to do the nursery."

"You guys don't have to do that."

"It's from us, as well as Michael, Morgan, and Josslyn" Kristina said. "You and Jason have always looked out for us and taken care of us. No matter what happened, we all knew we had you two to depend on always. We want you to know we're going to do that same for Danny and this new baby. And, no, I didn't look at the gender. I decided to be good."

"That's so sweet," Sam said, hugging her sisters. "You guys are the best."

"Me next," Carly said. "It's from Sonny and me. Your something borrowed is his private jet."

"What?"

"I had called Spinelli and told him to cancel your plane tickets to Hawaii," she shrugged, handing Sam over a folder that had a trip itinerary in it. "You're going to California to bring Danny to Legoland, and then going to Hawaii. Sonny threw in Legoland, Danny's got him wrapped around his finger."

"He's going to be so excited, thank you," Sam said, hugging Carly as well.

"Jason in an amusement park was also an image we couldn't resist," Carly laughed. "Have fun, you guys can leave tomorrow."

"Last but not least," Monica said as she sat next to Sam and handed her a gift box. "Something blue. It also falls into the something old category."

"Monica, it's beautiful," Sam gasped as she opened the box and saw the diamond and sapphire bracelet.

"It was a gift from Lila when I married Alan," Monica explained. "Edward gave Jason her wedding ring, so I thought it would be fitting for me to give you this."

"I can't," Sam shook her head and went to hand back the bracelet but Monica refused.

"Lila would want you to have it. She would have been over the moon with having you in the family. I know I am," Monica said. "She gave that to me saying she was proud of her son for finding someone like me and now I'm doing the same. Jason couldn't have found anyone better than you, I'm very glad you two found your way back to each other."

"Thank you, Monica," Sam said, wiping the tears away.

"Okay! It's time for everyone to get ready," Maxie said, clapping her hands in excitement. "Upstairs!"

"Sam, can I talk to you for a minute?" Emily asked as everyone followed Maxie.

"Yeah," Sam nodded and stayed on the couch.

"I understand why you've been cold towards me since I've gotten my memories back, and I can't blame you for it," Emily said, reaching into her pocket. "When I was getting married, you gave me something borrowed. I wanted to finally return them."

"I'm surprised you kept them," Sam said, taking the earrings from her and smiling at the memory.

"You were a good friend to me and I betrayed that when I encouraged Elizabeth to go after Jason, I'm sorry," Emily said sincerely. "It's easy for me to say now in retrospect, but I honestly thought he was going to push her away. He loved you so much, it was so easy for everyone to see. I never imagined that would have played out that way."

"She was carrying his child, we were having problems," Sam said with a small shrug. "Jason's loyal, he wanted to do right by the baby he thought was his. That's who he is."

"I'm still truly sorry for it. I would like to be your friend again, and I know that's going to take time because I don't deserve it," she sighed.

"Jason made a point that maybe it happened for a reason. I was in a bad place when we first dated and I didn't know how to love the person I was, and Jason and I were constantly with each other. I lived there when I was pregnant with his best friend's baby, that's an unusual situation."

"By normal standards or Port Charles standards?" Emily said with a laugh.

"True," Sam smirked. "But I was able to grow as a person, and find my way without him which was important for the both of us. He realized he wasn't with me out of loyalty. We found our way back to each other and we were stronger than ever."

"I'm very happy for the two of you."

"I'm glad you're back," Sam said, taking her hand. "Monica and Jason have really missed you, a lot of people have."

"A lot has changed."

"Some things are still the same," Sam said, looking down at the earrings. "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome," Emily smiled. "Let's go get you ready. Jason is going to be stunned when he sees you."

* * *

"Why do you look so nervous? It's not like this is your first wedding," Sonny said as he watched Jason pace around the living room.

"You're one to talk," Jason glared at him, sitting down on the couch.

"You and Sam are already married, this is a cake walk," Sonny said.

"I'm not really good at this," he shrugged.

"You love Sam, that's all that matters. It's just you and her up there," Sonny said. "Nobody else matters."

"I know," Jason nodded.

"Sir, we got a visitor," Max said, Spinelli peeking out behind him.

"Hello Mr. Sir," Spinelli said.

"Spinelli," Sonny nodded, trying not to grimace at the nickname. "Did Sam and Carly send you over?"

"Ah, no I'm unfortunately here on business," Spinelli said. "I wish I didn't have to do this on Stone Cold and Fair Samantha's day of love, but it is most pressing."

"What is it?" Jason asked, knowing it had to have been important if Spinelli came over here.

"I'm afraid Dr. Demented was right," Spinelli said as he sat down and opened his laptop. "Victor Cassadine is indeed alive."

"Where is he?" Jason said.

"He's been bouncing around a lot, he doesn't stay put very long," Spinelli said. "I am trying to discover a pattern of where he goes, but I haven't had the time. I actually just made this discovery moments ago."

"Find out whatever you can before tonight," Jason said. "And then keep me updated while I'm away. I'm not letting them interfere with mine or Sam's life anymore."

"Duly noted," Spinelli nodded. "I will find out everything I can."

"Don't get too wrapped up in it, Spinelli," Jason said, wanting to make sure he didn't miss the vow renewal. "You're too important to Sam and me to miss this."

"Why, thank you, Stone Cold," Spinelli said, truly touched by his friend's words. "I wouldn't miss the celebration for the world. I bid you both adieu."

"He's an odd guy," Sonny said once Spinelli was gone. "Brilliant, but odd."

"We owe him a lot," Jason said. "I wonder when Victor Cassadine is going to show his face."

"You think he will?"

"He's stayed hidden for a while. It's odd that Spinelli was only able to find him now after we've been looking into the Cassadines for months," Jason said, letting out a sigh as he leaned back on the couch. "I'll need to let Nikolas and Lucky know tonight."

"Business on your vow renewal day?" Michael asked as he walked in with Morgan.

"You should know business doesn't stop for anything, Mr. CEO," Sonny said. "How is ELQ doing lately?"

"We're finally back to normal," Michael said proudly. "Nikolas eventually reached out and explained the changes that were made. Kristina's been a big help too, surprisingly."

"Alexis and I are still very grateful that you offered her a job," Sonny said.

"Mikey said he'd offer me one too. Looks like the Corinthos are going to be taking over ELQ," Morgan said with a smirk.

"I'm sure Edward is rolling over in his grave right now," Jason said, shaking his head.

"He'll wait it out until Danny is old enough," Michael said. "That is if he wants to take over."

"We got a couple more years for that."

"If he doesn't, you'd have another kid on the way," Morgan said. "Any idea if the baby is a boy or girl?"

"Not yet, going to find out tonight," Jason said with a small smile. "As long as the baby is healthy, I don't care what the gender is. Just glad I get a second chance at being a dad and having a family with Sam."

"Third chance," Sonny corrected him, meaning what he said a while ago about being okay with Jason being Lila's father had she lived.

"Daddy! When can we see Mommy?" Danny asked as he walked downstairs and climbed into Jason's lap.

"Soon, buddy. You miss her?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "She's the best."

"I'd have to agree," Jason smiled as he hugged his son. "You excited to go to Hawaii tomorrow?"

"I'd be more excited to go to Legoland," he mumbled as he nodded.

"I think you'll be pretty excited to go away tomorrow after you see your mom and Aunt Carly," Sonny said with a smirk.

"What did you two do?"

"I made a few arrangements," he shrugged as he sat back in his chair. "You'll find out."

"That's never a good thing," Jason groaned. "Especially when Carly is involved."

"I think it's time to start getting ready," Sonny said, changing the topic. "Let's go boys."

* * *

"This is beautiful," Robin said as she looked around the courtyard of the restaurant. "It must have been so romantic when they got married here, just the two of them."

"Jason just didn't want to talk in front of people," Patrick said and Robin rolled her eyes.

"Well, then he must really love Sam to do this a second time in front of everyone."

"She's easy to love," he said and instantly cringed at his words. "I'm sorry, it's just all still kind of fresh."

"I know," she nodded.

"I love you more than anything and anyone. You're the one I will always chose."

"I love you too," Robin said, smiling as she leaned up to kiss him. They pulled away and she noticed Rafe staring at the two of them. "Have you given him a chance to talk to you?"

"It's hard," Patrick said, noticing Rafe as well. "Gabriel died because of his reckless actions."

"Jason says he's doing much better. He started at PCU and he's stayed clean."

"I'm happy for him, I just can't talk to him without thinking how my son never had a chance," Patrick sighed.

"I see Monica, let's go say hello," Robin said, changing the subject as they walked away. Nikolas and Lucky walked in together, with Hayden, Dante, and Lulu following behind them.

"I didn't think this many people would be here," Lucky said.

"I think it was to appease Alexis," Nikolas said. "She wasn't too thrilled they eloped here the night before the wedding."

"She also wasn't thrilled about the wedding itself," Dante said and Nikolas nodded.

"An upstanding lawyer's daughter marrying a mob enforcer wasn't exactly the plan I guess," Nikolas shrugged.

"Julian Jerome headed a huge crime family. Talk about pot calling kettle black," Hayden said.

"Sam only recently found out who her father was. Alexis gave her up as a baby," Nikolas said.

"I'm glad you all are here, if you can find your seats so we can get this show on the road," Maxie said.

"I think you missed your calling as a wedding planner," Lulu said as they followed Maxie.

"Oh hell no," Maxie laughed. "Disaster usually strikes when I help out."

"Nikolas, Lucky, may I have a word," Spinelli said as he ran over to them.

"That can't be good, you called them by their real names," Maxie said. "Damn it, Lulu! You jinxed me and all this!"

"No, everything will be beautiful," Lulu said quickly, linking arms with Hayden and Maxie. "Let's go sit."

"Is this anything I should know about?" Dante asked.

"Ah, I don't have an answer," Spinelli said, not sure if Dante has been made privy to any of the information they all have acquired these past few months.

"Is this about Victor?" Nikolas asked and Spinelli nodded. "It's okay."

"He appears to be alive," Spinelli said.

"Where is he?" Lucky asked.

"I was unable to find a location in such a short time. I couldn't miss this."

"He's not going to be easy to find. He's been alive this whole time and no one knew," Nikolas sighed. "It can wait until tomorrow. Spinelli, would you mind coming by me?"

"Not at all. I will discuss this with Stone Cold and Fair Samantha later this evening."

"We better sit, looks like they're about to start," Dante said, noticing Jason waiting for Sam at the end of the aisle.

"Mommy, you look pretty," Danny said as he stared up at her.

"That is the best compliment I've gotten all night. Thank you, baby," Sam said, squatting down to be eye-level with him to kiss his cheek. "And you look very handsome."

"Aunt Krissy said we get to have special cake tonight," he said with a huge smile on his face. "Can I have the special cake now?"

"Soon. First me and you have to walk down to Daddy."

"Okay," he nodded, taking Sam's hand and tugging her toward Jason. "Let's go."

Danny pulled Sam down the aisle as he ran toward Jason, much to everyone's amusement. Jason watched and was in awe over how beautiful she looked in her wedding dress. He didn't know how he got so lucky to have her in his life.

"Easy there, buddy," Jason said as Danny crashed into his legs. "Going somewhere?"

"Cake soon," Danny said.

"Me and Mom are gonna talk to each other for a little bit. If you stay here with us and behave, I promise you can have the biggest piece of cake. Deal?"

"Deal," Danny nodded, fist bumping with Jason. Everyone watching was touched by the sweet father-son moment.

"Hi," Jason said as he looked at Sam and took her hands in his.

"Hi," she said, feeling the tears form in her eyes.

"Ready?" Robert asked as he motioned for them to hold hands. "I'm glad this time around, you know you're really Jason."

"Me too," Jason said gratefully.

"Jason and Sam, on this day, the fifth anniversary of your wedding, you stand beneath the symbols of the dragon and the phoenix," Robert said. "For the union of the bride and groom is the union between a dragon and a phoenix. Jason, you stand beneath the symbol of the dragon. Sam, you stand beneath the symbol of the phoenix. The dragon, the symbol of strength, can scare off evil spirits, protect the innocent, bless those around him with safety, and bring wealth to those who hold his emblem. The phoenix, goddess of all winged creatures, harvests luck, success, and prosperity. She can turn bad luck into good. Together, the dragon and the phoenix are the ultimate sign of yin and yang. Male, female. Strength and beauty. Alone, they bring happiness; but together, they bring double happiness. I've been told Jason and Sam would like to exchange a few words."

"We stood here a year ago when I had no idea who I was and Mrs. Yi had us renew our vows," Jason began. "I think being here with you was what I needed to find my way back. You have always been there for me. You've never judged me for what I've done, or made me question my loyalties to people. You've supported me through everything, and I can't tell you how much that has always meant to me. We lost five years together, but I promise you we won't lose another second. I fell in love with Samantha McCall all those years ago, and I am so proud that you are my wife and we always found our way back to each other. You are my home, Sam. I love you."

"I love you too," Sam whispered. Jason reached up and wiped away the tears that were falling. "You're my best friend, and I'm so glad I was lucky enough to marry my best friend. Everything that has happened to us has happened for a reason and we are stronger for every obstacle thrown our way. My love for you never faded, never went away. It continues to grow each and every day when I see you with  _our_  son and how attentive you are to Danny. He adores you and it means the world that everything I wished for has come true. I have everything I could ever want in life because I have you and our family."

"As a wedding gift from my family to yours," Robert said, handing them new figurines. "The smaller ones are for the children. My grandmother requests that you don't open the box for your new child on the way until tonight. She doesn't want to spoil the surprise."

"Did she look at the cake too?" Jason joked.

"Mrs. Yi knows everything," Sam smiled. "Thank you for doing this, it's the most beautiful ceremony."

"It was my honor," Robert said. "There is plenty of food being served, I made sure to have your usual orders prepared as well. Enjoy the night."

"Yay! Cake!" Danny said as he waved his dragon figurine in the air and ran toward Kristina's direction.

"Can we leave early and head up to the cabin?" Jason whispered in Sam's ear, his hand running up and down her back.

"Soon," she smirked, thinking back to when he first brought her there. "You want to get me alone, Mr. Morgan?"

"Always, Mrs. Morgan," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

"That ceremony was beautiful," Alexis said as she walked over to Jason and Sam, breaking them from their little bubble. "So very fitting for the two of you."

"It was perfect," Sam said, hugging Jason as she smiled up at him. "You still don't mind taking Danny for the night?"

"Not at all. Everything is packed and ready for all three of you so you can leave tomorrow for Legoland," Alexis said. "Enjoy yourselves at the cabin."

"Legoland? We're going to Hawaii I thought," Jason said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Ah, yeah, about that," Sam said. "Sonny lent us his private jet and we'll be making a pit stop for Danny."

"That's what he was talking about earlier," Jason shook his head. "Speaking of Danny, where'd he run off to?"

"Oh boy," Sam said, covering her hand with her mouth to keep from laughing to hard. "This kid is going to be the death of us."

"Guess we know what we're having," Jason sighed as they looked at Danny who was covered in pink cake.

"Mrs. Yi knew too," Sam said with a smile, pulling out a small phoenix figurine. "We're going to have a daughter."


	38. XXXVIII.

"That was amazing!" Danny yelled as he ran into the house, Jason and Sam laughing as they followed behind him.

"You like surfing?" Jason asked, throwing a towel on Danny's head to dry him off.

"Yeah! Especially when I can stand for a long time like you!"

"I'm a pretty good surfer too," Sam said as she placed their stuff on the table.

"Dad said you fall down a lot," Danny said and Jason smirked, trying not to laugh.

"I didn't fall down that much," Sam huffed. "I guess when your baby sister gets here we're going to have to come back here and I can teach you to surf too."

"We can come back here?" Danny asked, his eyes filled with amazement. "Anytime we want?"

"Yeah, this is our house," Jason nodded. "Sometimes other people stay here too, but I bought it a long time ago."

"We have a lot of houses," Danny said.

"We're not buying one in Legoland," Jason said quickly, knowing how his son's mind worked.

"But it would be so cool!"

"Wanna know what else would be so cool?" Sam said. "Bath time."

"Mom," Danny groaned.

"Bathroom," she said, pointing in the direction he had to walk.

"I got this, why don't you relax," Jason said, kissing Sam's forehead as he stopped her from following Danny.

"You sure you can handle it?" Sam joked and he gave her a look. "I should call Spinelli and see what he's found on Victor. It's been a few days."

"Let me know what he says," Jason said and Sam nodded. She sat down on the couch and pulled out her phone to call Spinelli.

" _Gracious greetings_ ," he said excitedly when he answered. " _How is the paradise that is Hawaii?_ "

"It's beautiful! We're having a great time. Danny loved Legoland, too."

" _And did Stone Cold enjoy as well_?"

"As much as he could," Sam laughed. "He's very glad to be here finally."

" _I am most pleased the Morgan family is enjoying their time together_ ," Spinelli said. " _Safe to assume this phone call was for an update on the undead Cassadine family member?_ "

"Any luck on finding him?"

" _I have been able to retrace his steps and he's been all over. He spent some time in Greece before returning to Crichton-Clark. After that, he's traveled all over the country and hasn't stayed in one place for very long._ "

"What direction has he been going?"

" _It was sporadic until recently. I'm just getting updated information now on my computer, if you give me a moment … oh my._ "

"What's wrong?"

" _It appears as if he's been traveling west for quite some time._ "

"How west?"

" _He was just recently spotted in California,_ " Spinelli said nervously. " _What do you want me to do_?"

"Tell Nikolas and Lucky," Sam said. "They can figure out what to do until Jason and I get back."

" _Please do not cut your vacation short. I will call if it is absolutely crucial for you and Stone Cold to return._ "

"If he's on the west coast, then it's because of us, and it's going to end here," Sam sighed. "Keep me posted."

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, overhearing the end of the conversation. "Victor?"

"Has decided California was a good state to visit," Sam said. "What should we do?"

"I'll call Sonny, maybe he can get Shawn over here," Jason said. "Maybe you should take Danny back to Port Charles."

"I'm not leaving you," she said stubbornly.

"Sam," he said, taking note of the look of determination mixed with anger on her face. "He's after us because of our children. I don't want to lose either of you."

"And you won't. We're better together and we can keep Danny safe here," she said. "I would never let anything happen to him."

"I know you wouldn't."

"Going back to Port Charles would just bring the threat closer to home, too many variables to take into account," she said. "Victor Cassadine is already presumed to be dead. It's much easier to make that presumption a fact out here than back home."

"You think it's going to come to that?"

"I think if it does then having it happen here is our best option," Sam said with a small shrug.

"Looks like Mighty Mouse is making a comeback," Jason said with a smirk. Sam rolled her eyes and went to push him, but Jason caught her arms and pulled her close. "I love how brave you are. You've always been my rock and the person I knew I could count on for anything. You never judged."

"I never had any reason to judge you. I was no angel, and you were upfront about your life," she said, resting her hand against his cheek. "We're better together. We always have been."

"I love you," he said, brushing her hair from her eyes as he leaned down to kiss her.

* * *

"Cam, where's your mom?" Lucky asked as he walked into the house and found the boys alone.

"She left like twenty minutes ago," Cam said, briefly looking up from the show he was watching. "I think she had a date."

"She left the three of you here by yourself to go on a date?"

"I told her you were coming," Cam said with a shrug, not wanting his parents to fight.

"Still, you shouldn't be left alone," Lucky said with a sigh, thinking of everything that has been going on lately. "Your brothers are upstairs?"

"Yeah, I told them to wait upstairs until you came."

"Is everything okay?" Lucky asked, noticing Cam didn't seem himself lately.

"Not really," he said quietly. He didn't know what to tell his dad that wouldn't make him upset and then have that lead him him getting mad at his mom, but he didn't want to lie.

"You can tell me anything," Lucky said, wrapping his arm around Cam's shoulders as he sat down next to him. "I know I've been away for a long time and it's hard that your mom and I aren't together, but I'm here for you and your brothers always."

"I know. You're the best dad, and having you around all the time is even better," Cam said as he hugged him. "I just don't want to be the reason why you and Mom fight."

"You won't be, I promise. If you don't want to talk about it with me, that's fine, but something seems to be bothering you and I don't want you to hold it in. I can call Aunt Lulu if you want."

"Mom's been acting really strange for a while now," Cam said after a few moments of silence. "Before you came back, it was like Jake was all that matter. I mean, I get it because she thought he was dead, but I think it was because she told Jake that Jason was his dad. She'd never have time for me and Aiden anymore."

"Has that gotten better?" Lucky asked and Cam shrugged.

"She just doesn't seem to want to do anything with us anymore. She called Grandma here one night to watch us because she said she was going out. She talks to herself a lot, I heard her say a lot of mean things about Jason and Sam. She kept saying that day how she was going to make sure Jason sees what he's missing out on and was going to crash something. She didn't come home until late that night."

"Was this recently?"

"Um, yeah," Cam nodded, knowing exactly what day it was. "Are you going to get mad?"

"I will never be mad at you for something you have no control over, especially this," Lucky said.

"It was the day that Jason and Sam had their wedding again," Cam said. "I remember seeing the invitation by your house and Mom was in a really bad mood that day."

"I'm really sorry you have to hear all this," Lucky said, trying to keep his cool. He couldn't believe Elizabeth was letting their sons feel unwanted just because her lie blew up in her face. "What if you and your brothers stayed by my house a couple of nights? We can pack up some of your things and maybe go shopping for some stuff to keep by my house."

"I think that's a good idea," Cam said, sniffling a little.

"Let's go do that, then we'll go get something to eat."

"Can we go to the Floating Rib?"

"I don't see why not," he said, ruffling Cam's hair. "Anytime you feel like you need to talk about something, whatever it is, I'm here."

"Thanks, Dad," Cam said, hugging Lucky before running upstairs.

Lucky sat back down on the couch and ran his hands through his hair, trying to figure out what to do. It's been months, and obviously things haven't gotten better for Elizabeth. It seems that seeing Jason and Sam happy and solid together has made her more hopeful that she can get him back rather than allowing her to accept defeat and move on to focus on her own life with the boys. He never expected her to show up at the vow renewal. She must have watched from afar and he was just grateful she stayed hidden because that night was beautiful for his friends.

"Hey, do you and Spencer want to meet the boys and me at the Floating Rib for dinner? I know it may be beneath you, Prince," Lucky said and laughed as Nikolas told him off. "I'll see you around seven, then. I have something I need to talk about."

* * *

"Thank you for coming to me," Spinelli said as he answered the door and Nikolas walked in. "Georgie is being very fussy today and Maxie hasn't come back from work yet."

"No worries," Nikolas said as he sat down. "I needed to come into town anyway. Spencer is with my mother and Lucky just called about dinner. Have you found anything?"

"I've already spoken to Fair Samantha about Vicious Victor traveling along the west coast. She has informed Stone Cold, who called the Pacino-esque Dude to have the Black Knight travel to Hawaii for back-up if it is necessary."

"I think it will be," Nikolas sighed as he looked at the map on Spinelli's computer that was marked with all the spots Victor had been. "He wouldn't risk being far from his comfort zone unless he was desperate. Obrecht failed, and now he needs to finish the job."

"If Helena is dead, and Victor has been the one supposedly calling the shots, why would he act out of desperation?"

"That's what doesn't make sense. Have you found anything more about Valentin Cassadine?"

"Afraid not," Spinelli said as he pulled up a different screen. "We found out about him because of Robin. He's a ghost. You think he's behind this?"

"I don't know, but I don't trust him. He told me he just wanted to work in the hospital as Hamilton Finn and he's been quiet ever since."

"But that's a good thing, no?"

"Helena once told Luke she was terrified of Valentin – that he was the deadliest of them all. My grandmother wasn't afraid of anyone."

"Point taken," Spinelli said. "I will continue to search, but you Cassadines are very difficult to track and this is the most I've done in this field in quite some time. I'm disappointed to say I'm still a bit rusty."

"Spinelli!" Maxie said as she walked in. "Nathan is still lying to me about something and I don't know what."

"Case in point, another Cassadine with another secret to uncover," Spinelli said with a sigh. "Maximista, what can I help you with?"

"I caught Nathan sneaking in last night late."

"Maybe he had a late shift down at the PCPD?"

"No," Maxie shook her head. "He usually lets me know ahead of time if that's why he'll be home late. He didn't say anything. He smelled like perfume."

"Um, may I ask what type," Nikolas asked.

"I don't know, some generic smelling crap. Floral but musty," Maxie said as she shuddered. "Nothing I would wear so I knew right away. Why, what do you know?"

"I noticed Emily left late last night and came back early," Nikolas said and saw Maxie's face drop. "It could be nothing."

"That's his ex-wife," she said, leaning against the door. "This must be karma for all the horrible things I've done."

"You don't know if that's what is really going on," Spinelli said, trying to keep Maxie from getting upset.

"Yeah," she said with a sigh and straightened up when she heard people in the hallway. "Quiet!"

"What is it?"

"Nathan's home early," she said, peeking through the peephole. "Nina let me leave early today so I could get Georgie, usually I'm not home for another hour or two."

"I'm sure the Dashing Detective is home early to catch up on some missed sleep," Spinelli reasoned and Nikolas nodded.

"Or he's home to screw Emily Quartermaine without me knowing," she said as she watched them kiss. "I can't believe it."

"Uh," Nikolas said as he stood up and went to see if Maxie was seeing things right. Sure enough, Nathan had Emily pinned against the wall as he kissed along her neck. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, I guess. You and Emily were married, you loved her," Maxie said as they walked away from the door.

"That was a long time ago. She's different, I'm different. Who we are now doesn't love each other like who we were then," Nikolas said. "I will leave you two alone. Thank you for the help, Spinelli."

"I will call if anything is uncovered," Spinelli said as Nikolas left.

Since the coast was clear, Maxie took an envelope from Spinelli's desk, slipped off her engagement ring and placed it inside. She wrote Nathan's name on the front and walked out of the apartment to place it on the welcome mat. Spinelli watched as she walked back in and sat down. He turned to Maxie and saw she was trying not to cry. "What can I do?"

"I don't know," she said, finally losing it as she laid her head in his lap. "I just need a friend right now."

"You will always have that with me," he said, running his fingers through her hair.

* * *

Nikolas headed into the Floating Rib early with Spencer, Lucky had called and said they were running a little late. They sat in the back corner eating a basket of fries because Spencer was convinced he was going to die of starvation.

"Father, who is that man Cameron's mother is with?" Spencer asked and Nikolas turned around, shocked to see who it was.

"Franco Baldwin," Nikolas said. "He, uh, works at the hospital. He's not a nice man."

"When you say he's not a nice man," Spencer asked, trailing off and hoping for his father to finish.

"I mean that he's hurt a lot of people I care about, and Uncle Lucky is not going to be happy when he sees this," Nikolas grimaced.

"Yeah, he doesn't look too pleased," Spencer said, noticing Lucky and the boys walk in.

"Hi Mommy!" Aiden said happily. He went to go over to her, but Lucky held him back. "What's wrong?"

"Cam, take your brothers over to Uncle Nik and Spencer," Lucky said. Cameron noticed his dad was angry so he didn't question it as he took Aiden's hand and walked over to Nikolas with Jake following him. "You left the boys home alone to go on a date with him?"

"I don't think you qualify to give me any parenting advice," Elizabeth said coldly.

"No? Then how about some dating advice," Lucky said, glaring at Franco. "Is this a cry for attention?"

"I can't genuinely enjoy someone's company?" she said, smiling at Franco who looked uncomfortable.

"I can't believe you," Lucky shook his head. "This isn't okay."

"What isn't okay is you coming back after years of being gone and then thinking you can dictate how I live my life and raise my boys."

"They're my boys too!" Lucky yelled, drawing the attention of the other patrons. "This discussion isn't over. Maybe next time I can remind you of the horrible things he's done, including strapping a bomb to my sister and kidnapping _our_ son."

"You okay?" Nikolas asked, standing up as Lucky approached. "Boys, how about we go to the MetroCourt for dinner instead?"

"I can't believe this," Lucky said as they walked out of the Floating Rib, looking back and seeing Elizabeth continue with her date like nothing happened. Ric stopped them as they were leaving. "What?"

"I saw," he said simply. "Call Diane, start to make arrangements for the boys."

"What are you talking about?" Lucky said, taking the card Ric was handing him.

"Elizabeth is clearly on the verge of a breakdown – again. You need to take steps to make sure the boys are taken care of," he said vaguely. "I've spoken to Diane. Trust her, and maybe have a little faith in me."

"What the hell was that?" Lucky asked once Ric walked away.

"I think he wants you to petition for custody. I'd call Diane," Nikolas said.

"That's not such a bad idea," Lucky sighed, shaking his head. "Since you suggested MetroCourt, you paying?"

"With the little money I have left to my family name, yes," Nikolas smirked.

"More than the Spencer name," Lucky laughed. "Think you can handle my attorney fees too?"

"At Diane's price? Yeah okay," Nikolas laughed.

* * *

"It's good to see you," Jason said as he greeted Shawn. "Sorry to make you come all the way out here for a few days."

"Plane ride was a little long, but definitely worth it," he said, shaking Jason's hand. "Good to have you back. Sonny tells me you think Victor Cassadine is on his way here."

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "Last night things were pretty quiet, I stayed up to make sure no one showed up but we were good."

"Sam and Danny are staying here?"

"Well, against my wishes," Jason said.

"She has that Davis woman stubborn streak in her," Shawn laughed.

"I heard that!" Sam called from the bedroom where she was changing. She pulled her dress over her baby bump and walked out. "I'm not leaving you two here on your own."

"I'm not thrilled about this," Jason said, pulling Sam close. "But we're only here for two more days."

"Hopefully those two days left stay quiet," Shawn said and Sam nodded.

Sam woke up with a start when she heard a gunshot outside her bedroom. She reached over for Jason, but he wasn't in the bed. She grabbed the gun out of the nightstand and made sure it was loaded before walking out of her room and into Danny's.

"Mommy, what was that?" he asked quietly.

"I need you to stay very quiet, okay," she said and he nodded. "There are some bad people here and Mommy and Daddy are going to keep you safe, but you have to listen."

"Like the lady who tried to take me?" Danny said, fear clear in his voice. Sam's eyes teared up as she nodded.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she said, hugging him close. "Hide in the closet, do not come out for anything. I will come get you when it's okay."

"I'm scared," he said as he walked into the closet.

"It's going to be okay, I promise," she said as she closed the door.

Her heart broke for her son and for him to have to deal with this at such a young age. She took a deep breath to regain her focus and headed into the living room. Gunshots echoed through the house and she heard Jason and Shawn talking outside.

"This will only take a moment, darling, if you cooperate," Victor said as he stood in the doorway, a gun pointed at Sam.

"You made a big mistake coming here," Sam said, not faltering as she held him at gunpoint as well. "You will never get your hands on my son."

"I'd rather not kill you, especially with another viable heir on the way, but if I have to, I will," he said as he walked toward her. "Oh Athena!"

"Who?"

"He isn't in his room," a little girl with blonde hair said as she walked out of Danny's room. Sam was shocked as she walked over to Victor. "I checked everywhere."

"Where is he, Mrs. Morgan? I don't want to hurt you."

"He's gone," Sam said. "You'll never find him."

"I highly doubt a protective mother like yourself would send her son out at night, especially after hearing so many gunshots due to her gangster husband and his friend," Victor said smugly. "I will ask you one more time."

"Go to hell," Sam said angrily.

"Very well," he sighed, shooting at her but she jumped out of the way in time. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Mommy!" Danny yelled, running out of the closet.

"Danny, no! Go back inside!" Sam yelled, panic filling her voice.

"Daniel, come with me and I won't kill your Mommy," Victor said.

"Danny, go inside!"

"Don't hurt my mom," Danny said, his face scrunching up in anger as he ran toward Victor. Sam jumped up and grabbed him around his waist.

"I will kill you both. We have fascinating technology these days."

"Like hell you will," Jason said from behind Victor, who turned around and was met with Jason's fist. "Sam, get out of here."

"Come on, Danny," Shawn said, taking him from Sam.

"Take her too," Sam said, pointing at Athena. "She needs to come back to Port Charles with us."

"Let's go," Shawn said, taking Athena as well as he ran out of the house and toward the car they had to go to the airport.

"Sam, go with him," Jason said. "I need to take care of this."

"I'm not leaving without you," she said.

"I don't know if there is anyone else on this island, you need to go. Danny needs one of us, and I'm not letting you risk yourself while you're pregnant for me."

"How valiant of you, Mr. Morgan," Victor said from the floor, lifting the gun he had and aimed it at Jason. "Foolish, though. You both will die."

Victor shot first and Sam couldn't help herself, she reacted on instinct and pushed Jason out of the way as she shot at Victor. She yelled out in pain when she realized Victor's bullet pierced through her arm. Jason caught her as she fell, looking over at Victor who had a bullet wound through his forehead.

"Is he dead?" Sam asked, her breathing heavy as she tried to ignore the burning sensation in her arm.

"Yes, we have to get you to the hospital," Jason said, scooping Sam up in his arms and carrying her to the car. He sat her in the front seat and ripped the bottom of her dress so he could stop the bleeding.

"What happened?"

"She's Sam, that's what happened," Jason said angrily as he tied the fabric around her arm. "We need to get to a hospital."

"I'll take care of everything here," Shawn said. "I called for backup."

"Call if you need anything," Jason said, jumping in the driver's seat and driving away.

"Is Mommy okay?" Danny asked from the backseat.

"Mommy's just really tired, but she's okay," Jason said, not wanting to worry his son. "Hey buddy, who's your friend?"

"Her name is Athena," Danny said. "She doesn't talk much."

"Athena, do you know who your parents are?"

"I have no parents," she said as she continued to stare out the window. "I was born in a machine. I've seen it."

"Oh," Jason said, knowing exactly where this little girl came from. "Sam, baby, are you okay?"

"Danny is safe?" she asked quietly, feeling tired.

"He's fine, stay awake, okay," Jason said, speeding up once he saw the hospital in view. "You're going to be okay."

"I know I am, because we're together," she said, holding his hand.


	39. XXXIX.

"How could you let her get shot!" Alexis yelled as she walked into the penthouse. "Of all the reckless things you two have done over the years, this is by far the worst!"

"I didn't let her get shot," Jason rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like I used her as a human shield. Do you not know your daughter by now?"

"I just don't understand," Alexis said as she sat down on the couch next to Sam. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom, and stop yelling at Jason," Sam said. "I got yelled at enough by him once the doctor's told me I was fine."

"That was by far the stupidest thing to do, pushing me out of the way," Jason rolled his eyes.

"Next time I'll just let you get shot," Sam said.

"Good! That's what should have happened the first time!"

"Such an interesting argument to have," Alexis said. "How's Danny handling everything?"

"We scheduled an appointment with Dr. Collins to talk to him about everything that's happened," Jason said. "It's been a lot of a little boy to handle."

"Good, Kevin is great," Alexis said. "Where is he now?"

"He's upstairs with his new friend we found," Sam said and Alexis looked at her curiously. "Victor had a little girl named Athena with him."

"Any idea what Cassadine she's related to?"

"Uh, we're thinking Stavros," Sam said. "She said she was born in a machine and we know that one of Lulu's eggs were stolen. We think it was fertilized by Stavros."

"Do they know?"

"Dante and Lulu are on their way over," Jason said. "They should be here shortly."

"Well, to add on to this drama involving children," Alexis sighed. "I spoke with Diane and Ric the other day and Lucky is petitioning for sole legal and physical custody of his children."

"Diane and Ric?" Sam said, looking at her mother questioningly. "That's an odd duo."

"Yes, well, I don't exactly condone what's going on but Ric is concerned for Elizabeth and Diane likes to stay busy, as well as she finds this all amusing," Alexis rolled her eyes. "Lucky and Ric spotted Elizabeth on a date with Franco a few days ago and Lucky was very agitated from what Nikolas told me. Ric wants to get Elizabeth help."

"And be her knight in shining armor," Sam rolled her eyes. "Why is he working with Diane and Lucky?"

"Why does Ric do anything?" Alexis said. "He's a selfish bastard. He probably figures if he swoops in and saves Elizabeth, she'll be in his debt and want to be with him. His small sliver of a soul probably just wants to make sure her boys are taken care of so they don't have to worry about them."

"Great guy," Jason scoffed as he sat down next to Sam. "If you see Diane, let her know I'll cover whatever she's charging him."

"That's very generous of you," Alexis said.

"Yeah, well it's the least I could do. Elizabeth is seeing Franco to try to get under my skin and it's affecting Lucky and their kids instead," Jason sighed. Sam leaned back in his arms and he took comfort in her closeness.

"I just hope your Hawaiian adventure was the last of the danger you two find yourself in," Alexis said, giving a look to Sam. "Especially you. I can't believe you jumped in front of a bullet."

"It was just a scratch," Sam tried but got dirty looks from both Jason and Alexis. "I don't like it when you two agree with each other, it's unnatural."

"It won't last long, don't worry," Alexis said as she stood up to leave. "Jason, take care of my daughter."

"Will do," he nodded.

"Oh, hello," Alexis said when she opened the door and saw Lulu and Dante in the hallway. She turned around and mouthed 'good luck' before closing the door.

"Thanks for coming," Jason said, gesturing for them to sit down.

"How are you feeling?" Lulu asked Sam, who shrugged. "What a way to spend your second honeymoon."

"Life is never boring for us," Sam said with a small smile. "Life is about to get a little more interesting for you two."

"Why's that?" Dante asked.

"I think we found the answer to Helena's cryptic will message for you," Sam said. Jason had gone upstairs to get Athena. "I know one of your eggs went missing. I think we found it."

"Really?" Lulu said hopefully.

"This is Athena," Jason said as he brought down the little girl with Lulu's blonde hair and dark eyes that could easily be Dante's, but he knew better.

"She's Stavros' daughter," Dante asked quietly.

"I'd suggest having Lucas do a DNA test, but we think so," Sam said. "I'm sorry."

"Hi Athena," Lulu said, walking over to her and squatting down to be eye level with her. "This might be a little confusing, but I'm your mom."

"I was told I don't have parents," Athena said cautiously.

"You were kept by some bad people, but Jason and Sam found you and brought you home. My name is Lulu and this is my husband Dante, we're your parents," Lulu explained. "We have a son named Rocco, he's your brother."

"Why does she look Danny's age?" Dante questioned. "Lulu was taken by Stavros after."

"I don't know," Jason said. "Whatever the Cassadines were doing was meddling with things that shouldn't be messed with."

"None of this makes sense," Sam said. "But this little girl is in desperate need of parents to love her."

"I have a cousin who's a doctor," Lulu said and Athena nodded. "Do you want to visit him? We'll make sure that you're okay and then you can come home with us?"

"He's my brother, he's super cool. Danny loves visiting him," Sam said.

"Home?" Athena asked.

"You can have your own bedroom and we'll get you some new clothes and toys to play with," Dante said.

"I can sleep in a bed?"

"Of course," Dante said and Lulu felt tears fill her eyes.

"Mr. Cassadine used to make me sleep on the floor when we'd move around a lot," she said quietly.

"You'll never have to do that again, I promise," Lulu said, taking Athena's hand. "Is it okay if I hug you?"

"Yeah," Athena nodded and Lulu wrapped her arms around her. "I've never been hugged before."

"Thank you," Dante said, sniffing in an attempt to hide his emotions.

"I texted Lucas, he's expecting you guys," Sam said. "Lulu, you heard about Lucky?"

"He called me before he called Diane, I said it was a good idea," she said, standing up and wiping at her eyes. "She's hurt my family enough. It's time for it to end. I think the court date is coming up soon."

"Let us know," Jason said and they nodded.

"Sam!" Maxie said as she knocked on the door. "I know you guys are home, I need to talk to you."

"It's open!" Sam yelled.

"Strange," Maxie said as she walked in. "Oh, we have a crowd. Hey guys. Who is this child?"

"My daughter," Lulu said and Maxie's jaw dropped in shock. "Yeah, you might want to stop by later. I'll fill you in."

"Oh I will be," Maxie said, unable to draw her gaze away from the little girl.

"We'll see you later," Dante said, leaving for the hospital with Lulu and Athena.

"What's so important?" Sam asked.

"Oh, right," Maxie said, shaking her head. "I did a good thing, and maybe a bad thing."

"Bad thing first?"

"Bad thing won't make sense if I don't tell you the good thing first. Well, it's really not a good thing in a normal sense, but it's an okay thing," Maxie rambled. Jason rolled his eyes as he headed into the kitchen to make lunch for Sam and Danny, and to avoid getting brought into another conversation with Maxie.

"Maxie, I'm tired. I was shot, let's get this going," Sam said.

"Uh, clearly more than weird, gangster foreplay went on during your honeymoon," Maxie said.

"Maxie!"

"Right, so I found out Nathan's been cheating on me with Emily," she said and Sam was shocked. "Yeah, unfortunately I really should have seen it coming. I left my engagement ring on the welcome mat and then moved in with Spinelli."

"I think I know the bad news," Sam said and Maxie nodded guiltily. "You and Spinelli?"

"It was one night, I don't know what happened," she said. "We woke up and said it wouldn't happen again."

"Do you want it to happen again?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I'll always love Spinelli, he's my best friend, we have a daughter together. I don't want to hurt him if it's not love love."

"You'll figure it out, it's not the end of the world," Sam reassured her. "I'm sorry about Nathan and Emily. Have you spoken to him?"

"He tried to explain himself, but he didn't even put much effort in it," Maxie shrugged. "There's a reason it's taken so long for us to get married. It just wasn't meant to be."

"You're being very mature about all this."

"I've been avoiding the hospital so I don't have to see her, or that smug look Elizabeth has permanently painted on her face," Maxie rolled her eyes.

"Have you been to work?"

"Nina is surprisingly on my side," Maxie said as she stood up. "I actually have to get back to work. I'm sorry you got shot, I hope everything turned out okay?"

"Yeah, you'll get the story from Lulu later," Sam said.

"Nothing ever is simple with you people," Maxie shook her head as she left.

"You're not wrong," Sam said as the door shut.

"I'm making pasta, hope you're hungry," Jason said as he leaned over the back of the couch.

"Starving, actually," Sam said, turning her head to kiss his cheek. "Looks like we came home to more drama."

"At least it's not ours anymore," he said. "Well, indirectly anyway."

"I feel terrible for Lucky," Sam said.

"He's doing what's best for his kids. Elizabeth's lost her mind."

"I hope Ric doesn't do anything stupid."

"I'm going to talk to Sonny about that," Jason said as he stood up. "And I'll call Diane later."

"Good, I will take a nap until lunch is ready," Sam said, turning around when she heard Danny coming down the stairs. "Hey buddy. Daddy's making lunch and I'm going to take a nap. Would you like to join me?"

"I like nap time," Danny said as he ran over and laid down beside her. "Mommy okay?"

"I'm better than okay. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," he nodded. "Ready for my nap."

"Me too," Sam smiled, kissing the top of his head.

* * *

"Thanks for seeing us right away," Lulu said as she followed Lucas into the exam room.

"Sam called and gave me the heads up so I made sure I kept my schedule clear until you guys came," he said. "Hi, my name is Dr. Jones. What's your name?"

"Athena," she said quietly as Dante helped her onto the exam table.

"That's a pretty name," Lucas smiled. "So, I heard you were on a really long trip. I'm going to do some tests to make sure everything is okay after that trip. Sound good?"

"I guess so," she shrugged.

"The most annoying thing of it is that I have to take some blood. It might hurt a little bit, but it'll be quick and if you're good, I might have a surprise for you," he said. She nodded and he decided to do the blood test first to get it out of the way. He was surprised when she barely even flinched when he inserted the needle. "You're doing a good job."

"You use a littler needle then they used to use on me," she said and Lulu gasped.

"Why did they use a needle on you?" Lucas asked.

"I don't really know. They didn't talk much," she said. "It would make everything hurt at night. When I would ask, they would laugh and say it was growing pains."

"Oh god," Lulu said quietly, burying her face in Dante's chest as she started to cry.

"Okay, well we're going to figure out why you had those growing pains to make sure you never have them again," Lucas said with a sad smile. He quickly swabbed Dante and Lulu for DNA to test against Athena. "I'm going to bring these to Brad. Um, Sam wanted me to keep this on the down low, so if anyone comes don't really say who you think she is."

"I'll say I found her by the docks and wanted to have her checked out before bringing her down to the PCPD," Dante said and Lucas nodded.

"Great, I'll be back as soon as possible."

"I think I know him," Athena said as she looked through the window.

"Dr. Jones?"

"No, that man right there," she said, pointing at Dr. Finn. "I've seen him before."

"Where did you see him?" Dante asked.

"When I was away," she said simply as she played with the paper on the exam table.

"Okay," Dante said, not wanting her to have to continue. He pulled out his phone and texted Jason asking about Hamilton Finn. "What's your favorite color, Athena? Maybe we get some paint to paint your new room?"

"I like purple," she said.

"Purple's a lovely color," Lulu said, knowing Dante changed the subject for a reason.

"Brad, put a rush on this for me please," Lucas said. "This is what Sam called about."

"Got it," Brad said, taking the vials from Lucas and immediately getting to work. "Did you hear what happened?"

"No, I've been working," Lucas said, rolling his eyes because Brad was as nosy as Amy sometimes. "What happened?"

"Elizabeth got served this morning," Brad said with a smirk. "Heard it from Amy and Robin. They were standing there when it happened."

"Served to go to court? By who?"

"Lucky Spencer wants custody of his kids. Saw Nurse Webber out with Franco the art therapist a few nights ago and flipped out," Brad said.

"Can't blame him. From what I was told, Franco kidnapped Aiden pre-tumor."

"I still think that tumor excuse is a load of crap," Brad said as he printed out the results from the DNA test.

"You and the rest of the town," Lucas sighed. "What did you print?"

"The who's your daddy results," Brad said as he took the paper from the printer. "And Dante Falconeri is not the father. Lulu is a match."

"Damn," Lucas said quietly. "I need you to do me a favor and keep it a secret."

"Anything for you, husband," Brad said.

"Keep a sample to test against Nikolas Cassadine. I'm going to call him in later in the week, don't want to raise suspicion."

"Who is this kid?"

"I'll tell you later," Lucas said, kissing Brad quickly. "Get me the rest of the results soon."

Lucas rushed back to Lulu and Dante to give them the news. He found Dante in the hallway on the phone with a look of concern on his face and Lulu and Athena talking.

"Still waiting on the rest of the results, but I have the one to confirm everyone's suspicions," Lucas said. "She's your daughter, Lulu."

"And Dante?"

"I'm sorry," he shook his head and Lulu nodded, tears filling her eyes again. "I'm going to call Nikolas in and ask for a DNA sample. If her father is who we think it is, she'll be Nikolas' half-sister."

"That's sick," Lulu shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I can call with the rest of the results if you'd like, or you can wait here."

"If you think it's okay, I'd like to go home and start to get her settled," Lulu said.

"I think the tests are going to come back okay, hopefully we can figure out what she was given," Lucas said. "Athena, are you feeling better since they stopped sticking you with needles?"

"Much better," she said. "I would like to go to their home, if that's okay. I've never slept in a bed before."

"Your mom and dad have a great home," Lucas reassured her. "You're going to be very loved. Your mom's aunt is my mom, so I know for a fact how great she is."

"Thank you," Lulu smiled. "Ready to go home, Athena?"

"Yes, please."

* * *

Elizabeth was furious. She couldn't believe Lucky had the nerve to serve her a summons while she was at work. She slammed her car door and marched up to his front door, furiously knocking until he answered.

"Assuming you know we have an upcoming court date," Lucky said when he answered. She pushed past him and walked in. "I'm on my way to work, you can contact my lawyer if you have any questions."

"This is a joke, right?"

"I don't find my children's welfare funny. Do you?"

"I have taken care of these boys their entire lives! I have been the one who has always been there for them! You left because you couldn't handle it here! Now you think you can come back and take my sons from me? Are you out of your damn mind!"

"No, I think you're the one out of your mind," he said. "You've been seeing Franco? He's a serial killer!"

"He had a tumor that made him do those things."

"Bullshit, Elizabeth," Lucky scoffed. "You're just doing this to get a rise out of Jason and it's not working. You're just pushing me away even further and affecting our sons."

"You're wrong," she shook her head. "This isn't about Jason. I like Franco. He's kind to me, he understands what it's like to be hated by everyone because of Sam."

"You make it sound like Sam's dislike of him isn't warranted. He let Jason and her think he sexually assaulted her. I would think you of all people would be sympathetic to that."

"She wasn't raped."

"I can't believe you," Lucky shook his head. "I need to go to work. I have a temporary order to have the boys stay with me that's in effect. If you want to see them, it has to be here and Franco is allowed nowhere near them."

"Lucky," Elizabeth said but Lucky opened the door and showed her out.

"I'll see you in court," he said before walking to his car.

Elizabeth stood on his doorstep dumbfounded. She didn't know what to do. She never thought Lucky would stoop to this level. She wasn't the one who was ruining everyone's lives – that was Sam. If Sam had just left well enough alone, everyone would have been happy, including her.

" _Ric Lansing_."

"Ric, it's Elizabeth. I need your help. Lucky wants custody of my boys, I can't let that happen."

" _I'll represent you. Stop by my office either later today or tomorrow and we'll discuss what to do_."

"Thank you so much. At least I know I can always count on you."

" _I'll always be here for you, Elizabeth_ ," Ric said before hanging up. Diane and Alexis were sitting in his office listening. "Told you she'd call."

"This is unethical," Alexis said.

"Attorneys work together all the time," Diane said with a shrug. "It's for the kids. We all know how dangerous Franco can be, and Ms. Webber doesn't sound too stable these days either."

"She needs help, she's unraveling," Ric said. "We'll need to make a show of it. She's not going to willingly get help."

"As long as the kids are okay and Lucky is okay with all of this, then I'll do what I can to help," Alexis sighed.

"It's going to be fine, don't worry," Diane said. "For once, Lansing is thinking with the decent bone in his body that isn't his manhood."

"Oh god," Alexis rolled her eyes.

"It'll work," Ric said, smirking at his ex-wife's discomfort about talk of his 'manhood'. "It has to."


	40. XL.

Sam slipped her sweater dress over her head and smoothed it over her growing baby bump. It was the end of October and she was starting to feel big, which wasn't the best feeling especially since the baby wasn't due until January. She clipped her compass necklace around her neck and fixed her hair, not noticing Jason come up behind her.

"Maybe you shouldn't come today," Jason said as he rested his hands on her stomach. "It could get stressful."

"I'm a witness, I have to go," she said, turning in his arms. "It'll be fine."

"I have a bad feeling," Jason sighed.

"My mom told us not to worry, and Sonny said Ric is on his best behavior for this," Sam said. "What are you worried about?"

"The questions you're going to be asked on the stand."

"I have nothing to hide when it comes to Elizabeth. I might have a couple crimes to keep quiet about regarding you, but you're not on trial and we have spousal immunity," Sam joked but Jason didn't crack. "Lucky needs our help. Those boys have been through so much and Elizabeth doesn't realize how badly her behavior is affecting them. I talked with Jake the other day when I stopped by and do you know what he told me?"

"What?"

"He said he feels like he doesn't matter to his mom anymore now that he's not your son. My heart broke for that poor boy," Sam said.

"I just can't believe things have gotten so bad," Jason sighed. "Are you ready?"

"Yup," she said, grabbing her peacoat off the bed. "We have to drop Danny off at school and then Monica is going to pick him up."

"Are those the boots?" Jason asked as she stared at her legs as she walked ahead of him.

"What boots?"

"The boots you had on the day I was attracted to a redhead," Jason said.

"Oh,  _those_  boots? No, they're not," she smirked.

"I like these boots, they bring up fond memories," he said.

"I still have those boots. Maybe if you're a good boy, I'll break them out," she said and Jason groaned, pulling her close.

"Time for school!" Danny yelled, running out of his bedroom with his backpack on his back. "Then costume shopping for Halloween!"

"Costume?" Jason asked as they followed Danny downstairs.

"Yeah, Grandma is bringing me to get my costume. It's awesome!"

"Me and Daddy are going to have to get a costume too," Sam said and Jason gave her a look. "Oh yeah, we do family costumes."

"I don't know about that," Jason said warily.

"It's our first Halloween as a family, Danny loves Halloween," Sam said as she stepped closer to him to whisper in his ear. "He seems to have inherited his father's affinity for costumes."

"Sam," he growled as she teased him. "Not cool."

"It'll be fun, don't be a party pooper," Sam said. "Right, Danny? Tell Daddy not to be a party pooper."

"Don't be a party pooper," Danny giggled. "Haha, pooper."

"Okay," Jason said, scooping Danny up in his arms. "Time to go to school."

* * *

Elizabeth paced back and forth in Ric's office, nervously biting at her nails as she waited for him to finish getting his stuff together. Today was the first day of the trial and she didn't think Lucky would let it get this far. She didn't want the boys to move out permanently, her home is the only home they've really known. She didn't understand why he was so adamant on going forward with this. The last offer she turned down was joint custody with the kids by him, and she would be allowed visitation only at his house up until the time she stopped talking to Franco. She scoffed thinking about it - how dare he dictate who she can and can't see.

"Ready?" Ric asked, picking up his briefcase from the couch. "You okay?"

"Nervous."

"Don't be," he said. "You're a great mother. This is for the best interest of your boys, just remember that through everything."

"This is all Sam's fault," Elizabeth said quietly as they walked out. "She's ruined my life and now she's ruining my son's lives as well."

"Well, Sam isn't a party to this case," Ric said, trying to keep the smirk off his face. This was going to go better than he expected. "Remember, best interest for the boys."

"I know," she sighed. "Thank you for doing this."

"I'll always be here to help you, Elizabeth. I know things haven't been easy for you, but I'll always look out for you," he said, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Let's get going."

* * *

"You're still sure this is a good idea?" Alexis asked Diane one last time before everyone started showing up.

"Yes, darling," Diane rolled her eyes. "I've prepped Sam for today. She knows what's coming."

"And Jason?"

"Please, your daughter was raised a brilliant con woman," Diane said. "Jason's reactions need to be genuine. Whatever reactions he may show. He didn't earn that nickname from Spinelli for nothing."

"Sam is pregnant."

"Fully aware, Alexis," Diane sighed, turning around to face her friend. "This is what's best for everyone. I will not push Sam to cause her stress in anyway. If everything goes to plan, hopefully by the next court date Lucky will have sole custody."

"Everything okay?" Lucky asked, noticing the tension between the two women.

"Everything is wonderful. Are you ready for today? Ric loves his low-ball questions," Diane said.

"I'm ready for anything as long as my kids are okay," he nodded. "Even what we discussed could happen."

"This isn't going to work," Alexis whisper-yelled.

"Relax," Nikolas said, sitting next to his aunt. "Have a little faith."

"Have a little faith in what?" Sam asked as she sat down behind her mother and cousin.

"I was thinking of throwing a Halloween party for the town and my dear aunt doesn't think I can do it in such a short amount of time," Nikolas said smoothly.

"Halloween party on Spoon Island sounds lovely with all the undead Cassadines that have been running around," Jason said and Sam laughed.

"Jason is just grumpy he has to wear a costume," Sam said as she nudged his side. "Danny already picked this year's theme, but he wants it to be a surprise."

"Is he still seeing Dr. Collins?" Alexis asked.

"The nightmares finally stopped, but we're continuing the appointments. He likes going which is helpful," Jason said, wrapping his arm around Sam. "I never wanted him to see anything like what he saw."

"It wasn't your fault," Sam said, knowing Jason has felt guilty over what happened in Hawaii still. "We had no idea because of our families our children would be targets. It's just as much on me."

"He's a strong kid, he'll be okay. Especially with parents like you two," Nikolas said and Alexis nodded in agreement.

"Has the party started without us," Ric asked as he walked into the courtroom with Elizabeth behind him.

"No, the main attraction just arrived," Diane said dryly. "I give you one last chance to accept our offer."

"No," Elizabeth said firmly. "I'm a good mother, I deserve to have my children."

"Fair enough," Diane said, standing as the judge entered.

"Let the games begin," Ric muttered, nodding discreetly at Diane.

"Your Honor, my client is a concerned father who is looking out for the best interests of his three sons," Diane started. "Ms. Webber has been acting out in ways that concern him. She leaves the children home alone when she goes out, when she is home with the children, she is borderline neglectful. This all stemmed from what one may call an obsession with a former lover of hers who is in this courtroom today, along with his very pregnant wife. Her cries for attention have gone so far as to dating Franco Baldwin, a reformed serial killer who taunted Jason Morgan for years. Not only that, he is responsible for the kidnapping of Aiden Spencer, my client and Ms. Webber's youngest son. My client is concerned that Ms. Webber will continue to act out and eventually put their children in direct harm. We are asking for sole legal and physical custody for the subject children, Cameron, Jake, and Aiden Spencer."

"I would never do that," Elizabeth shouted. Ric shushed her and apologized to the judge before standing up.

"My client is a woman who has made mistake, but I think everyone in here has made many mistakes they regret," Ric said. "My client is also an excellent mother who loves her boys and would never intentionally harm them. We are simply asking that the boys remain in her care and Mr. Spencer to continue with his regular visitation of them."

"Ms. Miller, call your first witness, please," the judge said.

"My first witness is Nikolas Cassadine," she said. Nikolas stood up and approached the bench, sitting down in the witness stand after being sworn in. "Mr. Cassadine, let's go back to February of this year. Your nephew, Jake Spencer, was hit by a car and severely injured, is that correct?"

"Yes," Nikolas said, catching Diane's eye. "To be clear, I have always considered Jake family but it was not until recently I found out he truly is my nephew."

"Objection," Ric protested weakly.

"Overruled."

"Do you know if my client was contacted when he found out his son was injured?"

"I assumed he wasn't because, like I alluded to, at the time we were all under the impression Jake was the child Elizabeth had with Jason and not Lucky. My brother raised him as his own, so I thought he had a right to know what was going on."

"So would it be fair to say Ms. Webber may not have called my client at all?"

"I would say so," Nikolas said.

"Ric," Elizabeth said, hoping he would have objected. "I was going to call Lucky, but he was always away and never answered."

"Don't worry," Ric said.

"My client has remained in Port Charles since then, correct?"

"Yes."

"He lived with you for a short period of time before finding a house of his own to live in with his children?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen my client and his children interact with each other?"

"They adore Lucky. We've spent a lot of time together since he's come back to town and my son loves spending time with his uncle and cousins, as well. Cam, Jake, and Aiden really look up to Lucky. They haven't really had a strong male role model in their life since he left."

"And why is that?"

"Well," Nikolas sighed. "I tried to spend time with them, but Elizabeth wasn't fond of my girlfriend at the time so it was difficult to make arrangements to see them."

"Was Ms. Webber seeing anyone during that time?"

"A.J. Quartermaine had returned, and I believe they were close, which may have had to do with his resemblance to his brother."

"Ric!" Elizabeth nudged him.

"Will you let me do my job? I know what I'm doing," he said, ignoring her glares.

"Anyone else?"

"She dated Jason Morgan when he had no memories of who he was after an accident. He became a father figure to the boys, they planned to marry," Nikolas said.

"Would you say they had a positive relationship?"

"Yeah, they do. Elizabeth kept the boys from Jason after he found out his identity and returned to his wife and their son, but Lucky sets up play dates for the boys and Danny so Jason sees them every once in a while."

"Thank you. No further question," Diane said and sat down.

"Mr. Cassadine, can you elaborate on what you mentioned earlier about Ms. Webber's middle son, Jake?" Ric asked.

"About who is father is?"

"Yes."

"When Elizabeth was pregnant with Jake, no one was sure if he was Lucky or Jason's. She showed a DNA test saying the father was Jason, so that's who we thought was the father until recently when both Jason and Lucky had another DNA test performed and it turns out Jake is actually Lucky's son."

"Was there a mistake in the lab work done this time?"

"No, what was discovered on security footage was Elizabeth tampering with the results the first time to say Jake was Jason's. As to why she did that, I can only speculate," Nikolas shrugged.

"I didn't do that!" Elizabeth yelled.

"Ms. Webber," the judge said sternly.

"My apologies, Your Honor," Ric said. "Why didn't Ms. Webber marry Jason Morgan?"

"He discovered who he really was. At the time he was going by Jake Doe. He then found out Elizabeth knew he was really Jason the entire time they dated and called things off."

"Information she received from you."

"Objection," Diane said.

"Sustained," the judge said after a moment.

"No further questions," Ric rested, sitting down next to an agitated Elizabeth.

"I've seen a lot of trials in my day, but this is an interesting one," Jason whispered to Sam. "Seems a little one-sided here, don't you think?"

"Elizabeth doesn't really have a leg to stand on anymore," Sam shrugged. "Kind of difficult to paint her as this lovely woman after everything she has done."

"Of all people to accomplish that, I figured Ric would do it."

"Just goes to show you how far gone she is."

"Your Honor, my next witness is Samantha Morgan," Diane said. "I would just like the court to be mindful that Mrs. Morgan is about six months pregnant at this time."

"I'm up," Sam said, kissing Jason quickly on the cheek before replacing Nikolas on the witness stand. She couldn't ignore the dirty looks Elizabeth was giving her.

"Mrs. Morgan, how would you describe your relationship with the two parties before you?" Diane asked.

"Lucky and I have been close for years. We dated briefly and then mutually broke up, we remained friends. He's a wonderful person and an even better father. Those kids adore him."

"And with Ms. Webber?"

"It's … strained, to put it politely," she shrugged. "She has always been in love with my husband and has constantly found ways to get in between us. I struggled with fertility and as a nurse she knew that. She took advantage of a weak moment in our relationship and slept with Jason when we had broken up, and then doctored DNA results to keep him tied to her."

"She's lying," Elizabeth said, earning another glare from the judge.

"Before Jason was shot and taken from me, we had been struggling because I was pregnant with our son and we didn't know if he was Jason's or Franco's because at the time we thought Franco had raped me during our honeymoon. It was a difficult time for us and she found ways to manipulate the two of us into thinking we had moved on. She also changed DNA results on my son to reflect that he wasn't mine but another woman's. As a result of that, my son was kidnapped by Heather Webber and she almost dropped him over the ledge of the hospital roof. Jason saved him and brought him home to me."

"Jason was done with her at that point, he should have signed those divorce papers and stayed with me," Elizabeth muttered. Ric shook his head and had a feeling this plan was working too well.

"How about the events that unfolded most recently?

"She lied about Jason's identity and kept him from myself and my son who he never had the opportunity to get to know," Sam said, choking up a bit. "She said that I didn't need him, that Danny didn't need his father because her and her boys needed him. Lucky came home immediately when Nikolas called him, I called him that same day and he already made arrangements to come home to his sons. If she had called him, her boys would have had a father."

"Do you think Ms. Webber is an adequate parent?"

"I think she loves her boys very much, but I think she's blinded right now by her obsession with getting Jason back. The boys have been questioning if their mom loves them lately, and it breaks my heart because my son is my world. I would never want him to ever question how much I love him. This is over a taken man, and it's a shame the children are paying the price. She doesn't understand that Jason loves me and only me."

"Liar!" Elizabeth stood up, having enough of this. "Jason loves me! I know he does! He's just with you because he pities you. He wanted the life we shared when he was Jake Doe. Yeah, I lied! I'd do it again in a heartbeat because we were happy, he was happy."

"Ms. Webber, sit down!" the judge said.

"No! This is bullshit," Elizabeth said, walking over to Sam who was exiting the witness stand. "He will leave you for me like he's done in the past. He loves me."

"This isn't about Jason, Elizabeth. This is about your children," Sam said, resting her hand on her stomach, which was the final straw.

"I can just see it now," Elizabeth said, sounding delusional. "Jason and I will be raising our boys together, and your son and this bitch of a daughter your having will be left in the cold. They'll be nothing to Jason, just like you're nothing to him now."

"Jason loves me, Elizabeth. He loves our son and he will love our daughter, now if you'll excuse me," Sam said, going to walk around her. Elizabeth finally broke and shoved Sam on the ground, going to kick her until Nikolas grabbed her from behind and lifted her. Jason was immediately by Sam's side helping her up.

"Your Honor, it appears as if my client is having a psychological break," Ric said. "If I may ask the court for a court-order to place her in Shadybrook for the time being. We will concede to Mr. Spencer's petition."

"Final order of custody to the petitioner," the judge ordered. "Ms. Webber will be sent to Shadybrook and released upon improvement."

"What!" Elizabeth screeched. "No! I won't go back there."

"It's for the best," Ric said. "It'll be okay."

"You did this!"

"Your Honor, if I may, I would like to make an unusual application, but I think it's pertinent to do this at this time," Diane said. "I am requesting a restraining order for Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, as well as for their son, against Ms. Webber. I think after this outburst it is a well-warranted request."

"Granted," the judge said. "Ms. Webber will be escorted to Shadybrook today."

"Lucky, no! Don't let them do this to me," Elizabeth pleaded as the court officers handcuffed her. "Please."

"I'm sorry," he said, watching as they took her away. "You need help."

"Nikolas, please. Nikolas," Elizabeth said. "You've always been my friend."

"I still will be, once my friend comes back. I don't know who you are lately," he said, kissing her forehead. "It'll be okay."

"Jason!" Elizabeth yelled as she was escorted away. "Jason, please! Don't let them do this."

"Sam, are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked, ignoring Elizabeth's cries for help.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Sam said, smiling up at him.

"What the hell just happened?" Jason asked once Elizabeth was gone and the judge left.

"That was a well-executed plan," Diane smirked as she packed up her stuff. "I make sure I am worth every penny you paid for."

"Pleasure working with you, now I need to come up with a plan to get Elizabeth to like me again," Ric said.

"Poor soul," Diane shook her head. "Victory dinner on me?"

"I need a drink after seeing my pregnant daughter getting shoved to the ground," Alexis said with a sigh. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine, getting shot was worse," Sam said.

"I need like three drinks," Alexis shook her head, walking away.

"You knew?" Jason asked Sam as they left.

"Diane filled me in on what they were planning. I don't like seeing Elizabeth get sent away, but she's a danger to everyone including herself. It was only going to get worse," Sam shrugged.

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"Diane didn't know if I'd be the trigger or if you would. She didn't trust your acting skills," Sam smirked.

"Sorry we all can't be great con women like you," Jason rolled his eyes. "You're sure you're okay? She pushed you hard."

"Promise, I came prepared," Sam said, pulling the pillow out from under the dress. "A little cushioning just in case."

"How didn't I notice that?"

"You were too busy staring at my legs in my boots," Sam smirked.


	41. XLI.

"This is the best costume ever," Danny said as he posed in the mirror. Sam smiled as she adjusted his mask.

"Come on, we have to go to Aunt Carly's," Sam said, taking his hand and almost dragging him away from the mirror. "Danny, Aunt Carly has the best candy, remember?"

"Where's Dad?"

"Right here," Jason said from the bottom of the stairs. "Ready to go trick-or-treating?"

"Yeah!" Danny yelled happily, jumping into Jason's arms.

"I'd tell you not to do that again like I tell you every time, but you don't seem to like listening to your mother who gave you life and cared for you," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"Daddy catch me."

"Not the point, Daniel," Sam said.

"She used your full name, better watch out," Jason said, half-mocking Sam and half being serious.

"I went easy on you this Halloween, Morgan," Sam said, glaring at her two favorite men. "Keep it up and next year I won't be so nice."

"Yes ma'am," he said, following Sam out the door.

"Danny, you look awesome!" Carly said as she answered the door in her Princess Peach costume.

"I'm Batman!" he said as he hugged her and ran inside.

"So we have mini-Batman, Catwoman, and lazy Batman?" Carly smirked as she looked at Jason's Batman t-shirt.

"We're easing him into Halloween in the Morgan house," Sam laughed as they walked in. "Please tell me Sonny is Mario."

"Please," Carly scoffed. "He'd shoot himself before doing a couple's costume."

"Not such a bad idea," Jason muttered and Sam smacked him in the stomach. "I'm just saying."

"It's for Danny," she said and he nodded. "Plus, I thought you liked costumes."

"You in them? Hell yes," he said quietly as he admired her in the tight leather pants and black v-neck sweater she was wearing.

"If you're good, I'll let you in on a secret later," she said, stepping close to kiss him. "And maybe if you don't knock me up again next year, I'll be Wonder Woman and wear the actual costume."

"In public?"

"It can have dual uses," she smirked.

"If you guys are done flirting, we're all going trick-or-treating before going to Nikolas's party," Kristina said.

"Sounds good, I love candy," Sam said, stepping away from Jason.

"Are lollipops your favorite?" Kristina asked.

"Oh my god, do not even continue that!" Sam yelled as they walked out of Sonny's house with Kristina cackling down the driveway. "There are children around!"

"I'd like an answer to that," Jason said, pinching Sam's side as he walked beside her.

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that," she winked at him.

* * *

"I got to hand it to you, this is pretty cool," Hayden said as she walked into the ballroom that was decorated for the Halloween party.

"You were a lot of help, thank you," Nikolas said.

"Have you seen Elizabeth since the trial?" she asked, holding the ladder as he stepped down from it.

"I visited her earlier this morning. She's still not handling it well," he said.

"I'm sorry, I know you two were close."

"I just want my friend back, you know," he shrugged. "Anyway, tonight is going to be fun. I think we all could use some of that."

"Emily and Nathan coming together?"

"Yup."

"Maxie coming too?"

"With Spinelli."

"Good for her," Hayden smiled. "What about you, any special lady in your life?"

"No," he laughed. "I think I'm good on the special ladies for a while."

"Don't wait too long," she said. "You're a catch, when you're not trying to kill people or plot to steal corporations."

"Really?" he groaned.

"I mean it," she smirked. "At least we can stand back and watch the drama that'll happen and laugh together."

"Sounds good," Nikolas smiled. "I'm glad we're able to do this now. I never thought I'd have the chance."

"Me too," she said, the doorbell interrupting their moment. "I believe we have our first guests."

"Shall we greet them?" Nikolas asked, linking arms with her to answer the door.

"We shall."

"Uncle Nikolas!" the Spencer boys yelled as they ran into the house.

"How much candy did you guys have already?" Nikolas said, smirking when he saw the exhausted look on his brother's face. "Happy Halloween."

"Father, the candy they're giving out is amazing," Spencer said with his mouth filled with chocolate.

"That's great, go dump out that wonderful candy in the bowl inside for the party."

"I have to share my candy," he exclaimed, clearly offended by the suggestion.

"Yeah, you're the king of cavities, son," Nikolas rolled his eyes as he adjusted the crown on Spencer's head.

"Come with me, children," Hayden smiled, taken Spencer's hand. "We'll hide some of the candy if you let me in on the stash."

"Deal," Spencer said.

"I heard that!" Nikolas yelled as they walked away. "Enjoying yourself?"

"It was a nice day," Lucky said. "We were with everyone for a little bit after I took the boys to see Elizabeth. She said you went early this morning."

"I did. She seemed okay, but still not herself."

"I think the Elizabeth we knew is gone," Lucky said sadly. "I spoke with her doctors and she's gotten more delusional. She thinks she's pregnant with Jason's child."

"I have to hope she gets better," Nikolas shrugged. "Does Jason know any of this?"

"No, he made it clear he doesn't want to. Sam had asked, but she doesn't know about this latest delusion. I don't know if it's a good idea to tell her or not."

"Tell me what?" Sam asked as she approached them. The butler had let the group of them in and all the kids were running inside to the ballroom.

"Tell you that Jason failed at his costume this year and I think you and Patrick should redeem yourselves next year," Nikolas said, laughing at the look Jason was giving him.

"He's new to this," Sam said, knowing that's not what they were originally talking about but she let it go for now.

"We missed out on Beggars Night this year," Patrick said and Sam nodded. "Maybe next year we'll pick up the tradition again."

"Oh, I remember Beggars Night," Robin said, looking at Jason who looked clueless. "Yeah, Jason Quartermaine was a participant back in the day, but Jason Morgan was not."

"The kids go trick-or-treating the night before Halloween to get some candy. Emma filled me in on the tradition two years ago," Sam explained.

"Beggars Night?" Maxie asked as she walked up to the group with Georgie in her arms. "I'm down. Next year. Especially since there's a ton of children popping up lately."

"Maxie," Robin sighed, spotting Lulu and Dante walked in with Rocco and Athena.

"What? It's true! They're all coming out of the woodwork."

"Never mind," she shook her head. "Let's head inside."

"I'm bound to say the worst things tonight," Maxie sighed, linking arms with Sam as they headed into the ballroom. "Nathan is coming with Emily. Nikolas had the decency to warn me, even though I expected it."

"I see you're here with Spinelli," Sam said, glancing back and seeing Spinelli dressed up as Sherlock Holmes, laughing with Jason.

"As friends," Maxie stressed and Sam rolled her eyes. "Sam!"

"Jason and I were friends too when we came back from Mexico after we had the hottest sex of our lives," Sam whisper-yelled. "Why are you denying what you feel for him?"

"I told you why," Maxie sighed. "Why don't you elaborate more on your Mexico sex?"

"No, that's all your getting," Sam smirked. "Listen, I know you need to work things out on your own and that my advice isn't falling on deaf ears, so I'll just say this last thing. You and Spinelli will always be in each other's lives because of Georgie, but it looks like fate is giving you another chance to let it be more than that."

"They're here," Maxie sneered as she spotted Nathan and Emily walk in together. "You're a Cassadine, where's the good alcohol?"

"I'm not picking sides since she's my sister-in-law, but he's an idiot for cheating on you and you can do so much better."

"You two have been talking for a while and Spinelli is getting twitchy over it," Jason said, coming up behind Sam and resting his hands on her hips.

"He's getting twitchy," Maxie rolled her eyes. "My ex-fiancé and your sister who he cheated on me with just walked in, but he's getting twitchy."

"I usually regret coming over when you two are talking, I fully remember why now," Jason said and Sam laughed.

"I'm going to go find my child," she sighed, walking away from them.

"I'm just glad she didn't try to break up Carly and Sonny," Jason said as he watched Emily and Nathan together. "I'd probably be burying my sister again if that happened."

"Has Lucky said anything about Elizabeth to you?" Sam asked, thinking of the conversation she walked in on before.

"No, I told him I don't want to know anything. I don't care," he said simply. "She's getting the help she needs and that's it."

"Yeah, but," Sam said, trailing off. "You're right, I shouldn't worry. We should make sure Danny doesn't eat too much candy."

"I think we're too late," Jason said, pointing over to where Danny was emptying out his candy bag and shoving as many chocolate bars in his mouth that he could fit.

"We're terrible parents," Sam shook her head.

"Sam, can I touch your belly?" Aiden asked, looking up at them with wide eyes.

"Aiden, leave Sam alone," Jake told his brother.

"No, it's fine," Sam smiled and Aiden put his hands on her baby bump.

"This is what my mom's belly is going to feel like," Aiden said innocently, wonder evident in his voice. Sam was taken back by the remark, as well as Jason who stiffened behind her.

"Aiden, Dad said Mom wasn't having another baby. She's sick, remember?"

"She told me I was going to be a big brother like you guys, and to Danny, too," Aiden said, pouting a little.

"Boys, go play," Lucky said, shooing them away. "I'm sorry."

"Elizabeth is pregnant?"

"No, she thinks she is. She thinks she's having Jason's baby."

"Oh god," Sam said, shaking her head. "There's no possible way right, I mean, I never did IVF treatment so she couldn't get ahold of an embryo. Jason, have you ever donated sperm?"

"Uh, no," he said. "She's sick, Sam."

"I know, but that doesn't mean she didn't do something drastic like impregnate herself with your baby somehow."

"I found out about this a few days ago, I requested a sonogram and lab work be done. She's not pregnant," Lucky reassured them. "I'm sorry about Aiden. We didn't want to worry you about nothing."

"No, don't be. He doesn't understand," Sam said.

"She's not going to get better, is she?"

"At this point? I don't have much hope," Lucky sighed.

* * *

Ric waited impatiently in the common area where Shadybrook allowed its patients to have visitors. The nurse had made an off-handed comment about how many visitors came for Elizabeth today, but none came with flowers. The bouquet was left off to the side on the table as he examined her medical file and shook his head in disappointment. She had stopped taking her medication for some reason. As he flipped through the file, he found out why and rested his head in his hands. He did this to her, he put her in here. He just thought it would help, that it would snap her out of it. He truly wanted to do the right thing by her and he wasn't sure if he succeeded in that.

"I'm really popular today," Elizabeth said as she walked in. Ric stood up to hug her and pulled out a chair for her to sit. "Are these for me?"

"I thought you could use a little something," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Wonderful, really," she smiled, but he frowned. "The morning sickness isn't fun, but it's over pretty quick."

"Morning sickness?"

"It's fantastic, Ric," she said happily. "I'm pregnant! Jason and I are having another baby!"

"Elizabeth," he sighed. "You haven't been with Jason in almost a year, you can't be pregnant with his child."

"We had a wonderful night together, like the night we conceived Jake," she said, her eyes glazing over as she got lost in her delusion. "He's leaving Sam for me."

"Has he told you that?"

"Well, no," she said. "He hasn't come by to see me, but I wrote him a letter and I know once he reads it he'll leave Sam and come for me. I'm pregnant with his child."

"Sam is pregnant with his baby, not you," Ric said, reaching for Elizabeth's hand but she quickly pulled it off the table. "Have you been taking your medication?"

"No, I'm worried it's bad for the baby," she said.

"I spoke to your doctor before," he sighed, going against his better judgment. "She adjusted your medication. It's to help the baby."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "She told me the good news when I came in, but I wanted you to be the one to tell me."

"I'm so happy, Ric," she said, wiping at her eyes. "But what's wrong with the baby?"

"They said it looks risky, so the medicine will make sure the baby grows strong and healthy."

"Okay," she said, nodding seriously at him and Ric couldn't believe how lost she was.

"Just make sure you take the medicine the nurses give you, okay? The baby will get better, and so will you."

"I will, I promise," she said. "Ric, what if Jason doesn't come back to me?"

"Either way, I will be here for you," Ric said. "When Jason doesn't come back for you, you will still have me. I will always take care of you and I'll take care of this baby."

"Thank you," she said. One of the nurses came in, letting them know the visit was up. "Will you come see me again soon?"

"Of course," he said, hugging her one last time before she left. He pulled out his phone to call Alexis, leaving a voicemail when she didn't answer. "Don't be mad. Elizabeth thinks she's pregnant with Jason's kid. She stopped taking her meds. I fed into the delusion to make sure she goes back on them. I'll be by tomorrow to see Molly and I guess to be yelled at by you."

* * *

"Who was that?" Jason asked, carrying a sleeping Danny into the penthouse as Sam was on the phone.

"My mother," she sighed. "Ric went to see Elizabeth. He had to play along with the pregnancy to convince her to continue her medication."

"Oh good," Jason rolled his eyes. "I'll be right down."

Sam sat down and tried to relax, but talking to her mom didn't make her feel better. She said she called Ric back and gave him a piece of her mind, but said he sounded like that was the last thing he wanted to do. Sam could understand that, since she was absolutely positive this was all a way for Ric to get back in Elizabeth's good graces and her pants.

"Don't look so worried," Jason said, sitting down and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I just want to be done with all of this, we're so close to be drama free," Sam sighed.

"How will we live without some big bad breathing down our necks?" Jason teased.

"Very happily," she said as she looked up at him. "Don't get me wrong, I feel awful that Elizabeth isn't well mentally, but I hate that you keep getting dragged into her life."

"I know, but I'm not giving in this time. She has people who care about her, I don't need to be her savior. I don't want to be that for her anymore."

"It sounds selfish, but I'm so happy to hear you say that," Sam said. "We're so much stronger now than we ever have been before, and I'm just so grateful to have you."

"We're stronger together, we always have been," he said, kissing the top of her head. "We may have a problem, though."

"What?"

"I talked to Dante earlier about Valentin. Athena's been having nightmares and she said a lot of them have to do about the scary doctor at the hospital. Nikolas and Spinelli have been looking into him, but nothing yet."

"Have you talked to Robin?"

"She has no idea. She only knew him briefly and was under the impression he was a researcher at the time. She's been trying to look into what he's been doing at General Hospital, but he's cautious. She doesn't want to raise any red flags."

"I don't blame her," Sam said. "Unfortunately I think we're just going to have to wait it out until Valentin presents himself as a threat."

"I know," Jason sighed. "I was hoping you'd have a different answer."

"Not at this time," she said, turning in his arms so she was straddling him. "Halloween's almost over. You survived."

"Barely," he said and Sam laughed, smacking his chest. "You might have to be the one who sticks to the costumes every year."

"Danny and I will wear you down eventually," she smiled.

"I believe there's a certain secret you need to let me in on," he said, his hands coming to rest on her behind as she shifted in his lap.

"Oh yeah," she smirked. "Since this was your first Halloween, I thought I'd make it special and wear the boots you were so fond of back then."

"These are them?" he asked, his hands running down her legs as she nodded. "I thought they looked familiar."

"You sure your memories are fully back?"

"Pretty sure," he smirked as he stood up quickly. "I remember how much I liked you in them and I also remember how much I liked taking them off you."

"I think I remember that as well."

"I could use a refresher," he said, all but running as he carried her upstairs to their room, Sam laughing at his eagerness. "My memory may be a little foggy."


	42. XLII.

Jason was in the nursery, painting the walls a lavender color that Sam had picked out a few days ago. The baby was due in two months and with the holidays coming up, Sam was on him to get the nursery finished.

"You know, you might have found your second calling as a painter," Sam said as she stood in the doorway and looked at the finished walls. "I would have helped but someone told me I wasn't allowed near this room."

"Yeah, that rule is still in effect," he said as he stepped off the ladder.

"I come bearing gifts," she said, handing him the mug of coffee in her hands. "The furniture everyone picked out will be here on Monday since it's a holiday weekend. It's going to look so nice."

"While I'm painting I might as well paint over that god-awful pink room."

"One thing at a time," she said, hugging him as she rested her head against his chest. "I told Monica that we'd stop by in the afternoon later since Carly insisted on us coming for dinner. Apparently everyone is going there for Thanksgiving."

"We're better off, I think Thanksgiving has always been a disaster at the Quartermaine's, and then it'll get us out of having to go to Sonny's for Christmas," Jason said.

"Carly sounded on edge and I'm not really sure why," Sam said.

"Probably nothing, you know Carly."

"Nice job on the nursery, if you get bored maybe you can paint my room," Rafe said as he passed them in the hallway.

"I thought you liked the pink," Sam smirked.

"It has grown on me. Also helps my dorm is very far from this color," he laughed. "I'm only kidding."

"You're going to come with us today, right?"

"Yeah, thanks for including me," he said gratefully.

"You don't have to thank us," Jason said as he started cleaning up.

"You both have been really kind to me, I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate you guys taking me in," he said sincerely. "I'll be in my room, let me know when you guys are ready to go."

"The nursery does look amazing," Sam said once they were alone again.

"I wish we did this all with Danny," Jason sighed, thinking back to how awful he treated her.

"You promised me you'd make it up to me and you've gone above and beyond," Sam said, hold his face in her hands. "You've been so caring and sweet, like you were when I was pregnant with Lila. All I wanted was to know you wanted our baby as much as I did, and I have no doubt."

"I'm sorry I gave you any doubts about that last time," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "I couldn't imagine life without Danny."

"He got me through losing you. You didn't leave me alone," she said.

"You'll never be alone again."

* * *

"Grandma!" Danny yelled happily when Monica answered the door. She smiled as he jumped into her arms for a hug.

"My favorite grandson!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Monica," Sam said, hugging her once Danny let go and ran into the living room. "Thanks for having us."

"Thank you for coming. Michael is here as well," she said, leading them into the living room. "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Sam smiled. "A little more tired than usual, but Jason has been taking care of everything so that gives me time to nap."

"I bet it's great having him around more this time."

"It means everything," Sam said. "Your granddaughter is going to have Jason wrapped around her little finger."

"As it should be," Monica said. "I'm going to check on how lunch is coming. Sit down, relax. No I don't need help."

"Okay," Sam laughed, shaking her head as she sat down next to Jason, who was talking to Michael.

"You two coming to my parent's house later for dinner?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, Carly was insistent that we come. More than usual," Sam said.

"Jax is coming because Josslyn called him," Jason said and Sam nodded.

"I think my mom thinks if more people are coming then they'll be less of a chance for a fight," Michael laughed. "Alexis and Julian are coming too, right?"

"Yeah, and Molly told me Ric was dropping by as well," Sam said. "The Quartermaines might have been the safer option tonight."

"Staying home would have been the best option," Jason said.

"Looks like you still love family gatherings," Emily commented as she walked in on the end of the conversation with Nathan. "Happy Thanksgiving everyone."

"Good to see you," Sam said, smiling at Emily but ignoring Nathan.

"The baby will be here soon. Are you guys ready?"

"Jason finished painting the nursery today, and the furniture is coming Monday so it's almost done," Sam said.

"You guys picked the set I picked out," Michael said proudly.

"Thank you again for doing that, you guys didn't have to," Jason said.

"You and Sam have done so much for all of us and dealt with everyone coming in at all hours," Michael said. "The very least we can do is buy the furniture for the new baby; and make sure Danny is as awesome as all of us."

"I'm looking forward to another Quartermaine girl," Tracy said as she sat down. "Tracy Jr. is a lovely name option."

"Yeah, we'll think it over," Jason said sarcastically.

"I think it's an interesting choice when you name children after deceased relatives. It's like they have to live up to that person," Nathan chimed in. Jason shut his eyes slowly when he felt Sam tense up next to him.

"Or maybe it's a way to honor that person who they loved so much and want to keep their memory alive," Sam said.

"But it's still about that dead person, not the new child."

"Danny is named after my brother who meant the world to me and died when he contracted encephalitis while caring for me when I caught it," Sam said, her fierceness catching Nathan off-guard. "He's also named after his great-grandfather Edward, who loved his family in his own way and rooted for Jason and I when not many people did. My son is his own person, and I know Danny and Edward are proud to share a name with him."

"I didn't mean to offend."

"Of course not, you're probably just thinking of your ex-fiancée and her daughter, who by the way is also named after a deceased family member," Sam said, rolling her eyes as she stood up. "I'm going to see if Monica needs help."

"I knew I liked your wife, Jason," Tracy smirked, amused by what just happened.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment and leave it be," he sighed.

"Sam, wait," Nathan said, following her into the dining room. "I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry."

"I'm going to be honest with you right now," she said and he nodded. "I thought you were a pretty stand-up guy, Maxie loved you and she's one of my good friends. You broke her heart. I'm in an odd position because Emily is my sister-in-law and I'm happy she's happy, but I wish you went about this another way. Maxie didn't deserve to see you with Emily while you two were still engaged, you owed her more than that. That is why I'm not your biggest fan so whatever apology you have for me, you don't have to waste your breath."

"I didn't mean to hurt Maxie."

"Then you should have ended things before sleeping with Emily, it's that simple," Sam said with a shrug. "We've all made bad decisions and I'm not really judging you, I just want you to understand why you bother me."

"Fair enough," he said with a small nod.

"Lunch is ready," Monica said, feeling the tension in the room. "I leave for twenty minutes and there's an argument."

"It's a Quartermaine tradition," Tracy said happily. "Sam is keeping it alive."

* * *

After a surprisingly quiet lunch, Sam, Jason, Michael, Rafe and Danny headed over to Sonny's for dinner. Danny fell asleep in his car seat and Michael offered to carry him inside for Sam since Jason hung back to talk to Max and Milo. Rafe stayed back too when he saw Molly and TJ approaching.

"I'm surprised those two aren't inside trying to sneak some food," Sam said as they walked up the driveway, another guard opening the door for them.

"Me too, I wonder what happened to keep them outside," Michael said. "I'll bring him up to my room for now so he can rest."

"You're the best," Sam said, kissing Danny's forehead before Michael headed upstairs.

"Sam and Michael are together? I'm surprised your okay with that," Sam heard a voice from the couch say as she walked in. She looked around and saw Carly drinking by the bar next to Jax, and Brenda on the couch. "You bit my head off when you thought I slept with Michael, and by the looks of it him and Sam are having a baby. Congrats on being a grandma."

"You just like to hear yourself talk, don't you?" Carly sneered, walking over to Sam to kiss her hello. "This is a nightmare."

"I can see that," Sam said quietly. "Hi Brenda, nice to see you again. I'm not dating Michael or having his baby."

"Oh," Brenda said sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm coming back in the middle of everything. I heard Jason was alive and I wanted to see it for myself."

"A phone call probably would have sufficed," Jax said, sitting down across from Josslyn who was playing cards. "You weren't exactly invited here."

"Yeah, because I'm sure Sonny loves having you around as much as Carly loves having me here," Brenda scoffs.

"Uncle Sonny knows I like seeing my dad whenever I can. I'm not sure anyone really wants to see you," Josslyn said, muttering the last part.

"Joss," Jax said, reprimanding her but not really meaning it.

"They weren't really kidding," Jason said once he spotted Brenda on the couch. "Why are you here?"

"Hello to you too," Brenda rolled her eyes. "Like I told them before, I heard you were alive, I needed to see it for myself."

"A phone call would have been fine," he said and Jax smirked. "Why does he have a face?"

"He said the same thing a few minutes ago," Sam said, walking over to Jason and wrapping her arm around his waist as she rested her head on his chest.

"Oh! You two are back together," Brenda said in shock.

"Yeah," Jason nodded. "Why is that so surprising?"

"Well, she dated doctors after you disappeared," Brenda said. "I remember that Silas guy, and then I heard you were engaged to Patrick."

"I didn't date them for their careers," Sam said defensively.

"No, I know," Brenda said quickly. "They just had more personality than this one standing here. Sorry about the Michael comment."

"What?" Jason asked.

"Don't ask," Sam shook her head. "So, where are you staying while your in town?"

"The Metro Court. Carly's dying to kick me out," Brenda said.

"Definitely dying to kick you," Carly mumbled as she finished her drink and went to get another one. Sam followed her over to the bar.

"Hey! I can stay with you guys until I go back to Rome," Brenda said happily, like it was the best idea in the world. Sam caught Jason's eye and shook her head no.

"Can't, sorry. No room," Jason said simply.

"Did you finally renovate my old room?"

"No, Rafe lives there when he's home from school," Sam said, pointing over to where he was sitting with Molly.

"You two always had a thing for taking in strays," Brenda commented.

"I bet you wish you weren't pregnant right now so you could drink," Carly said.

"A little notice would have been appreciated."

"I found out this morning when Jax landed and she followed him off the plane," Carly rolled her eyes. "She wouldn't believe anything we told her. I even showed her wedding pictures."

"Why is she here?"

"Who knows? Maybe she decided she wants to give Jason a shot now that Sonny is finally over her. He hasn't left the kitchen because she's been annoying him all day."

"You sure that's why he hasn't left the kitchen?"

"It's what I keep telling myself," Carly shrugged. "I'm going to go check on dinner. Hope you're hungry."

"I'm starving," Sam said, she always got extremely hungry during her pregnancies. Sam glanced over at Jason and saw he looked miserable as Brenda chewed his ear off.

"How is it you keep winning?" Jax said as Josslyn shuffled the cards, a victorious smile on her face.

"I taught her a thing or two," Sam smirked as she winked at Josslyn.

"Yeah, I don't like that," Jax shook his head. "You and Carly being friends is a scary thing."

"It's the best," Josslyn smiled. "Even better now that Uncle Jason is alive. I'd always hear stories from Michael and Kristina how cool you two were."

"I don't think they thought we were so cool back then, but we watched out for all of you."

"Congratulations on that," Jax said, gesturing to her baby bump. "I know how long you've wanted a family and it keeps growing."

"Thank you," Sam said sincerely.

"What are you doing here?" Dante asked when he walked in with Lulu, Rocco, and Athena, stopping in his tracks when he saw Brenda.

"I'm going to go save my husband," Sam said and Jax snickered as she walked toward Jason and sat down in his lap. "How's it going over here?"

"Much better now," he said, pulling her closer. "We should have stayed home."

"Probably," she said with a shrug.

"Sam, is Danny here?" Athena asked politely when she tapped on Sam's shoulder.

"He's upstairs taking a nap right now. If you want, my sister Molly is over there with Avery. I think they're having a tea party."

"That sounds like fun, do you want to join them?" Lulu asked and Athena nodded. "Okay, let's go."

"I thought you only had Rocco," Brenda asked Dante.

"Long story, not getting into it," he sighed, shaking his head.

"How is she doing?"

"Much better," Dante said, relief coloring his tone. "She sleeps through the nights, no more residual growing pains. She likes going to school. She's great, I love her."

"Good," Sam smiled.

"Any idea what was in that growth serum yet?" Jason asked.

"No, not yet. Brad thinks it might have been stem cells, but he doesn't think that's all. He's been away working with Ellie on it because he didn't want to get caught in the hospital. He came home yesterday."

"They're both brilliant, they'll figure out what was in it," Sam said and Jason nodded in agreement.

"How's Spinelli?" Brenda asked, not liking being left out of the conversation.

"He's great."

"Is he coming tonight?"

"No, he went to Anna's with Maxie for dinner," Lulu said, waking over and sitting down on the couch. "It's the first Thanksgiving they've spent as a family in a while, Anna was excited to have everyone over."

"Ours too," Sam said, smiling at Jason.

"Of all the stupid things you could do, Ric," Alexis said loudly as she walked in, Ric shaking his head in annoyance.

"You act like I thought it was going to play out this way. I thought she'd get over him, realize she needed help and then I'd get her released."

"Yeah, your superhero plan worked out real well," Alexis said sarcastically. "Hello everyone."

"Elizabeth?" Sam asked and her mom nodded, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "What happened now?"

"Nothing," Ric said. "She's making progress. It's not the progress we all expected, but it's progress nonetheless."

"What kind of progress?" Jason asked.

"Clearly she's not moving along fast enough because I bet you were hoping to play house with her by now," Sam said and Ric glared at her.

"She no longer thinks she's pregnant with Jason's kid," Ric said.

"Oh, that's a good thing."

"She thinks Sam had the babies switched in utero," Alexis finished and side-eyed Ric. "Her new delusion is that you found out you were having Franco's baby and she was having Jason's, so you had the babies switched so you could carry Jason's baby."

"That's twisted," Sam said and Jason nodded in agreement.

"Maybe they need to give her better drugs," Jason said.

"I am working on it," Ric said with a sigh.

"As long as she's locked away and my baby is safe, I don't care," Sam shrugged. "Let her have her crazy fantasies about my husband in her padded cell."

"It's actually a nice room," Ric said.

"Enough," Alexis rolled her eyes.

"I came back at the perfect time," Brenda said, taking it all in. Alexis looked over and made a face.

"Why are you here?"

* * *

After what felt like an eternity to Sam, dinner was finally ready and everyone was seated at Sonny's giant dining room table. It was quite the scene - Carly and Brenda were arguing, Alexis and Diane were berating Ric, and Sonny, Julian and Ava were actually having a civil conversation. The kids table was loud since the big kids decided to sit there with Danny, Athena, Rocco, and Avery. Jason rested his hand on her thigh, whispering in her ear how he couldn't wait to get her home and Sam laughed as she blushed. They had escaped the fighting earlier to go upstairs, and luckily they didn't get caught because everyone was so caught up in themselves. Sonny stood up and got everyone's attention when he hit his knife against his wine glass.

"Thanksgiving is a time for everyone to put their differences aside and come together to celebrate what we're all thankful for. Obviously most of us here can't stand each other on a daily basis, and it's been a miracle that there hasn't been any bloodshed yet with all the arguing, but we do have a lot to be thankful for. Lost loved ones have come back, new life has been created, friendships and truces have been forged. A lot happens in a year and it's easy to forget to be grateful for everything that has happened. I am thankful that I am able to host this dinner with my beautiful wife, surrounded by friends and family."

"I'm thankful for that too," Carly said, raising her glass to toast, everyone following suit.

"I'm thankful for you," Sam whispered in Jason's ear. "I'm so thankful you came back to me."

"Me too," he said, kissing the back of her hand.

"I've never seen him like that," Brenda said to Carly as she looked over at Jason and Sam. "He's so carefree."

"Him and Sam have always been like that, in their own world where nothing matters but them," Carly said, smiling at how happy her friends looked. "Their love is one-of-a-kind."

"I'm happy for them. Jason deserves to have someone like Sam who loves him unconditionally," Brenda said, taking a sip of her wine. "I'm happy for you and Sonny, too."

"Please," Carly scoffed.

"No, really. I'll always love Sonny, probably in the same way you'll always love Jax. You are his equal," Brenda said.

"Thank you, that was surprisingly kind."

"Yeah, don't get used to it."

"Wouldn't dream of it."


	43. XLIII.

"Sam, this is torture," Jason said as he pushed the cart around the toy store, following Sam as she threw in more toys.

"It's Christmas, Jason. Lighten up," she said. "There's a lot of kids in the family."

"We couldn't order this all online and have it shipped to them?"

"Really?" she gave him a look and he shrugged. "Suck it up, I'm the one who's eight months pregnant."

"Even more of a reason to go home," he said with a smile.

"Quit complaining and help me pick out stuff," she rolled her eyes as she wrapped her hands around his arm. "We still need to get Spencer, Cam, Jake, and Aiden something."

"Action figures for Lucky's kids, Shakespeare for Spencer."

"You're ridiculous," Sam said, shaking her head. "Something's off. What's wrong?"

"I got another letter from Elizabeth this morning," he said with a sigh.

"What did it say?"

"I don't know, I threw it out," he shrugged. "I told you she wasn't interfering with our life anymore. I meant it."

"Don't react like this because you think it's what I want," she said. "If you want to go see her, then go. I understand."

"But I don't want to."

"Clearly you need to do something because you're in a funk. It's Christmas, be merry," she said before walking away from him. He began to follow her with the cart but stopped when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. "Yeah?"

" _Stone Cold, I have made a most fascinating discovery._ "

"About what?"

" _Ellie has sent me the chemical breakdown of the so-called 'growth serum' used on Athena and it appears a certain doctor has been doing research on a very similar chemical compound._ "

"Dr. Finn?"

" _Always a step ahead,_ " Spinelli said excitedly. " _What is the next step_?"

"For once, I don't know," he sighed. "Call Robin, ask if her and Patrick can come by later. I'll let Sam know what's going on."

" _Wonderful. I'll bring the Nectar of the Gods_."

"You do that," Jason muttered as he hung up. He walked around the corner and saw Sam talking to Franco. "Get away from my wife."

"Jason, it's okay," Sam said quickly, smirking a little at the fear in Franco's eyes when Jason approached. "It's fine."

"You don't know how to stay away from my family, do you?"

"I heard about Elizabeth, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I feel responsible," he said and Jason scoffed. "I know you don't need to hear any of this from me and it's basically to make myself feel better, but I needed to get this off my chest."

"I'm willing to hear him out," Sam said. Jason frowned in displeasure but sharply nodded, letting Franco know to continue. Sam wrapped her arm around Jason's waist as she stepped closer to him.

"I heard what she was claiming and given our past, I didn't want anything to go too far. I went to see her, to try to sort things out, and she flipped out," Franco said. "She told me it was my fault she was in there pregnant with my child. I never touched her, and I know you two know I never touched Sam."

"Debatable," Jason growled.

"Since I had the tumor removed," Franco stressed. "I'm still sorry about everything, not that it matters."

"It doesn't," Sam said with a small shrug. "Continue."

"Anyway, I know the whole town thinks she's crazy and I'm to blame. I cared about her, I understood how she felt being ostracized because her actions. I thought she cared about me too," he said, looking down at his shoes. "I thought she thought I had really changed. I didn't think she was using me to get back at you two. I wish I did, I would have avoided her."

"Might be best to continue to avoid her," Sam suggested. "She's going to get you in trouble."

"Even after I just told you everything, Jason still wants me dead?"

"I'll always want you dead," Jason said.

"Yeah, me too," Sam said. "I really don't think you should find that as a surprise."

"I don't," he sighed. "Thanks for giving me the time of day."

"No problem," Sam said, moving to the side as Franco walked away. "I almost feel bad for him."

"Almost?"

"Well, yeah. He's kind of pathetic now, but Elizabeth messed with his head. He was telling me how he thought he was falling for her and went to see if she was okay and she went off on him."

"Shockingly, I don't care," Jason said as they headed to the cashier. "He should have stayed dead."

"I agree, but he's not," she said. "I heard you talking on the phone, what's up?"

"Spinelli found some information. I told him to call Robin and Patrick and have them come by later so we can figure out what's going on," Jason said.

"Looks like I'll be ordering a lot from Noodle Buddha tonight."

"I could cook, what do you want?" he asked, paying the cashier and taking the shopping bags before Sam could grab them. "Or, better question, what does the baby want?"

"The baby wants Noodle Buddha," Sam grinned. "I'll text Patrick and see what Robin eats and if he still likes his usual."

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Jason said, feeling jealous that Sam knew another man the way she knew him.

"You're ridiculous," she rolled her eyes at his jealousy. "Need I remind you about a certain ex who currently resides in Shadybrook? Or another ex who would show up at all hours of the day? Or an ex-wife who lived with you because she needed protection while I lived in my own apartment?"

"I wanted you to move in with me when Brenda was there," he said defensively.

"Like hell I was moving in while she was there just to watch you get pissed off at her and Spinelli fawn all over her," Sam said.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he said after he placed the shopping bags in the back of his truck. "I can't help it, I'm a little possessive."

"Nothing more says you staked your claim than the giant ring on my finger and this," she said, pointing to her very pregnant belly.

"I'd like to think it means I love you," he said, grinning at her bluntness.

"That too," she smiled, leaning up to kiss him.

* * *

"Gracious greetings!" Spinelli yelled his usual greeting as he walked into the penthouse. "The arrival of our miniature Fair Samantha is upon us!"

"Not yet," Sam said, grabbing the shopping bags from him. "I ordered your usual."

"Much appreciated. Shrimp dumplings surprisingly pair well with my drink of choice."

"Yeah, I'll take your word on that," Sam said. Her pregnancy cravings were off the walls sometimes, but orange soda made her stomach turn.

"Patrick and Robin should be here shortly. They needed to bring the Most Welcomed Emma to her grandmother's house."

"You think Valentin has been continuing the research being done on kids while he's been working at the hospital," Jason asked, sitting down next to Spinelli and looking at his laptop.

"It would appear so. I have spoken with Dante and Lulu about what Athena has told them, but whatever she went through sounded most painful. We are not sure, but we think she's only two, but she appears to be four and has the intelligence of someone beyond her years."

"That's terrible," Sam said, passing Jason a beer and Spinelli one of his sodas, keeping the water bottle for herself. "Why would he help us the way he did then?"

"I don't know," Jason said, standing up to answer the door. Patrick and Robin stood in the hallway, Patrick holding two bags filled with take-out.

"We caught the delivery guy downstairs, I knew right away it was yours," Patrick said, setting the food down on the table.

"Thank you, I'm starving," Sam practically moaned. Jason glanced over at her as she dug through the food, shaking his head in amusement at his wife. He reached for his wallet to give them money but Robin shook her head.

"He said it was already taken care of and to tell you guys the Yi's said 'Merry Christmas,'" she said.

"I was going to tell them we paid for it as a Christmas gift," Patrick said, and Sam smacked his arm. "It's your favorite. Perfect Christmas gift."

"I ordered a little bit of everything," Sam said, setting out the food. "I wasn't sure what you liked, Robin. I texted Patrick but he still has that awful habit of not answering his phone."

"Thanks, it all looks good," she said, placing her hand on her stomach.

"I'm going to blame the baby and I'm going to start eating while you all talk and figure out what's going on. I'm not going to be much help if anything goes down anyway," Sam said, taking a seat at the table and sticking her chopsticks in the carton.

"I reviewed what I could at the hospital earlier before coming here," Robin said, getting straight to business. "It looks identical to what Lucas found in Athena's blood. The only difference is one of the compounds. The only thing I can assume it's supposed to do is help with aging. I need to look more into it, but I think Valentin altered the original serum so growth was still rapid but not as painful for the child. It looks like Athena was the only child this was tested on."

"That we know of. Rafe said a lot of the children they had died," Jason said. "What's our next step."

"We can't do anything without alerting Valentin that we're on to him. He's at the hospital all the time," Patrick said.

"Ellie was working on discovering what this serum is made of so we don't have to hack anymore into his files," Spinelli said. "She's arriving for Christmas, so there is a chance that we'll know more by then."

"Ellie's coming for Christmas?" Sam said in surprise. "What?"

"It was Maximista's idea, actually," Spinelli said proudly. "She didn't want Ellie spending the holidays by herself. Quite selfless of her, don't you think?"

"I'm very surprised, that's good," Sam said, popping a dumpling in her mouth. "No one is hungry?"

"We better grab something quick, Sam's tiny but she eats more than all of us combined," Patrick joked as he stood up and grabbed the sweet and sour chicken.

"I'll, uh," Robin said, covering her mouth as she ran upstairs to the bathroom.

"Anything you care to share with the class, Dr. Drake?" Sam asked knowingly.

"Robin's pregnant," he said, unable to keep the giant grin off his face. "We found out before Thanksgiving."

"That's wonderful!" Sam said, getting up to hug him. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Congratulations," Jason said.

"The Most Welcomed Emma is getting a baby brother or sister! That's most joyous news," Spinelli said.

"We're excited," Patrick said, turning his head when he heard Robin coming back down. "You okay?"

"I used the mouthwash in the medicine cabinet," Robin said. "Sorry."

"No, I was there a few months ago," Sam said and Robin looked at her in confusion. "Patrick just told us. A new baby is so excited."

"I'm nervous," Robin admitted, taking the carton of white rice and figuring that was safe enough to settle her stomach. "It's been so long since I've really felt settled that having a baby is nerve-wracking. It's still weird for me knowing that I'm home for good and no one is going to take me from my family again."

"I know the feeling," Jason said quietly, Sam reaching out and resting her hand on his arm. "Once I got my memories back, I kept thinking I was going to get taken again because I thought it was too good to be true."

"They messed with us," Robin said and Jason nodded. "It's time to finish this so we can all feel safe again."

"For once, I don't have a plan," Jason admitted.

"We'll figure it out, we always do," Sam said.

* * *

"Santa came!" Danny yelled excitedly as he jumped into his parent's bed, waking them up with a start. "There's presents under the tree! Santa came!"

"That's good, baby. Let Mommy sleep a little longer," Sam mumbled, reaching out for Danny but he wasn't having it.

"But Santa!"

"Okay, let's go open some presents," Jason said, getting out of bed and pulling Danny with him. He spotted Rafe in the hallway, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. "Danny got you too?"

"It's Santa," Rafe said with a smirk before heading downstairs.

"Wait for me," Sam groaned, rolling out of bed with a sigh. She glanced over the clock and almost screamed when she saw it was five in the morning. "We're going to bed after presents are opened."

"Santa!" Danny yelled as he squirmed out of Jason's arms and ran downstairs.

"Is he not usually this eager?" Jason asked, kissing Sam's forehead as she walked over to him.

"Usually I can coax him back to sleep for another hour or two," she yawned. "This is the first year his daddy is around to open presents. I'm sure he's extra excited about that."

"I am too."

"Look at all the presents," Danny said in amazement as he ran around the tree.

"Santa knew you were an extra good boy this year," Sam smiled as she sat down on the couch.

"Rafe, Santa knew you were here too," Danny said, piling the gifts for Rafe in front of him.

"These are for me?" Rafe asked as he looked over at Sam and Jason.

"Santa must have known you've been a good boy too," she said, giving him a soft smile as she watched him get emotional.

"I, thank you," he said, at a loss for words as he stood up to hug Sam, knowing Jason didn't do hugs after seeing Spinelli try many times. "I don't know how to repay you both for taking me in."

"You don't," Jason said simply.

"You might want to open the one on top first, you might get a kick out of it," Sam said before turning her attention back to Danny, who was riding around the penthouse on his new bike. "Danny, put your helmet on!"

Rafe opened the top box and laughed when he saw it filled paint samples for him to pick a color for his room.

* * *

"They decorated nice here," Ric said as he sat across from Elizabeth, his visits becoming a weekly thing.

"Shouldn't you be spending Christmas with your daughter?" she asked, a little grumpily but he wasn't deterred.

"I told Molly I was stopping here to see you first. I didn't want you to be completely alone on Christmas," he said.

"That's sweet," she said quietly, looking down at her hands. "I've kind of lost it, haven't I?"

"You're getting better," Ric said optimistically. "You don't think your pregnant anymore which is a big step in the right direction. Even better that you dropped the baby switch theory."

"I can't believe I thought that," she shook her head. "I haven't been with anyone in months."

"Nurse's Ball," he said and winked at her, smiling as she blushed. "You seem more like yourself lately."

"They say I'm improving," she shrugged. "I know I shouldn't ask, but do you know if Jason has asked about me."

"Do you want an honest answer?"

"I think I know that answer already," she sighed.

"Nikolas asked how you were doing. He hasn't had time to come visit," Ric said, trying to keep her spirits up. The doctors said after she finally broke out of her delusions, she's been exhibiting some signs of depression.

"Lucky brought the boys this morning, that was nice," she said. "I miss my boys, Ric."

"You need to keep doing better for them. The doctors want to make sure that if you leave here you won't revert back."

"Do you think I will?"

"I hope you won't," he told her honestly. "Your boys need their mom, and you're a great one. I'd also like to have a place in your life again, if you'd let me."

"I thought you were against me when I got sent here, but you've been trying to help me this entire time."

"Like I said, I just want the best for you. I'll always be here."

"Thank you," she said, placing her hand on his. "Will you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Can you give this to Jason for me? I want to make sure he gets it," she said, handing him an envelope. "I'm assuming he'll be at Alexis's with Sam."

"Elizabeth," he sighed, but thought better of it. "I will."

"Thank you," she said, standing up to hug him. "Merry Christmas, Ric."

* * *

"Merry Christmas," he said, kissing the top of her head before leaving.

"Today was pretty great," Sam said, cuddling into Jason's side as she watched Danny play with Leo. Kristina was talking with Lucas and Brad by the fireplace and Olivia was helping Alexis clean up.

"First of many great Christmases together," Jason said, kissing her temple.

"You gonna open that?" Sam asked, gesturing to the letter Ric gave Jason from Elizabeth. He didn't seem happy about it, but figured Jason would burn it anyway and was 'feeling the Christmas spirit.'

"Nope," Jason said, not even glancing at it. "I'm with my family, I'm not letting her bother us today."

"Okay," Sam conceded. She hasn't told Jason that she's read the letters he's thrown out and has genuinely felt bad for Elizabeth. She sounded lost and she would pour her heart out to Jason in these letters. If she was going to be a bitch about it, she'd say it was a pathetic ploy to get Jason to come back to her. Which it is, but Sam knew Jason wouldn't give into it.

"I know you read them," he whispered and she turned to him in shock. "You're not very good about hiding it."

"Pregnancy brain," she muttered. "My curiosity took over."

"Do the letters worry you?"

"About how she's doing, yeah. But about us? Never," she said. "Despite everything she has done to us, I still want her to get better."

"Me too, but we shouldn't have a role in that. She'll get better on her own and realize I had nothing to do with it," Jason shrugged.

"You're right," she nodded, standing up and taking the letter over to the fireplace, throwing it in the fire and watching it burn. "That felt good."

"Doesn't it?" he smirked.

"Do I want to know?" Lucas asked and Sam shook her head. "Okay. How are you feeling?"

"Great," Sam smiled, placing her hands on her stomach. "Big, but great. Ready for my little girl to be here."

"She's going to be so spoiled," Kristina said, clapping her hands excitedly.

"I love being pregnant because I know it's a miracle for me, but I'm just ready for it to be over," Sam admitted. "It's exhausting, and Danny is crazy."

"Good thing Jason's around to help," Brad said and Sam nodded.

"It's great having him back," she said, glancing over and smiling when she saw him talking with T.J. "It's the best gift I could ever ask for."


	44. XLIV.

"Rafe's room came out great," Sam said as she sat down next to Jason who was scrolling through Spinelli's computer looking at the information complied on Valentin.

"Yeah, the painters did a good job," he said absentmindedly.

"So you're not going to take up a day job as a painter?"

"No, I prefer sitting on my ass all day because I have a ton of money saved away," he said with a smirk. "Sonny offered me a job."

"A legal one?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Yes," Jason said with a laugh. "I asked Alexis and Diane to review everything and make sure that if anything happened I wouldn't get implicated, but I'm pretty sure his coffee shop is completely by the books. He wants me to manage it."

"That's great," Sam said. "I was only kidding about you getting a job, I love having you around all the time. I was still hoping you'd take me up on my offer to join the P.I. club."

"Once everything settles down and the baby is born, I'm going to get antsy being home and having nothing to do."

"I know," Sam said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Whatever you want to do, I support it. I would be more comfortable knowing you wouldn't get arrested and sent to jail for anything, though. I haven't necessarily missed that anxiety."

"Me either," he said. "I can't believe you stuck by me through all of that."

"I love you, Jason Morgan. No matter what, that will never change," she said sincerely, leaning in to kiss him.

"I love you too," he said, pulling her back for another kiss. "Still, it was selfish of me to expect you to be okay with my lifestyle and all the danger I brought."

"You are the most unselfish man I know, but if you think being with me was selfish, then it's okay. I was selfish too, I wanted to be with you no matter what. I didn't have a problem with how you lived, I lived similarly. I didn't grow up the picture perfect life, you know all this," Sam said, taking his hand in hers. "I enjoyed our life, it was exciting. We just have different adventures now, involving children who need us."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"You've told me once or twice," she smiled. "So, what did Spinelli find?"

"Valentin has definitely been continuing his research on the growth serum here. He found a list of research projects done at Crichton-Clark and there's one doctor in common on the projects involving the growth serum and children."

"Dr. Finn?" Sam guessed and Jason nodded. "Why did we only find this now?"

"Spinelli said the files were impossible to find," Jason sighed. "They're all aliases, though. I'm pretty sure Spinelli hasn't slept because he's been running facial recognition on all the days these projects were worked on. He looked a little out of it."

"Just because there's been research done on all this doesn't mean the connection will be obvious to everyone else," Sam sighed. "What can we do?"

"I still don't know, but we're closing in and I'm worried Valentin is going to do something," Jason said.

"Me too, Patrick said he's been jumpy at the hospital lately," Sam said. "I don't know what our next move would be either. Nikolas and Lucky have been working with Anna trying to figure out what to do. I say we leave it up to them, we have enough on our plate."

"Yeah, we do," Jason smiled, resting his hand on Sam's very pregnant stomach. "How are you feeling today?"

"Ready for your daughter to come out already," she said with a smile. "She likes to kick."

"Really?"

"Yeah, feel," she said, moving Jason's hand over where the baby was kicking. "She's restless too, she's ready to come out."

"Soon," Jason said, kissing the top of Sam's head. "Soon our daughter will be here and I can't wait to watch her grow. I missed that with Danny."

"You won't miss that with her."

Sam and Jason had fallen asleep on the couch, but woke up with a start when they heard someone knocking on the door. Sam felt a little crampy, but figured she'd just fell asleep in a weird position and needed to get up and move. She opened the door and Kristina stormed in.

"I have a problem," Kristina said as she paced around the living room. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"About?" Sam asked.

"Parker, my professor," Kristina said.

"You've still been talking to her," Sam said and Kristina nodded. "Kristina! You're going to get yourself kicked out of school!"

"No, it's not like that," Kristina said quickly but Sam gave her a look. "I care about her, okay? And she texted me around the holidays saying how her and her wife have been fighting and how she feels so alone and just wanted someone to talk to."

"You've been dating Aaron. Does he know?"

"Kind of," she said. "He doesn't know the entire backstory."

"Meaning he doesn't know you slept with her."

"How do you know that!"

"I know you, Krissy," Sam said. "Mom told me you went out Thanksgiving Eve and I know you haven't been really been partying so you went to Parker's."

"I just needed to know if there were any feelings left," Kristina said, looking down at her hands. "I just went to talk to her, I swear. One thing led to another."

"And?"

"Nothing," Kristina said. "Nothing for her, anyway. I still don't know how I feel about girls, but I know I care about Aaron and I hate that I cheated on him."

"You have to tell him."

"No, I don't," she said.

"Lying doesn't work, it always comes out," Jason said as he stretched and stood up. "Take it from me and Sam."

"Well, if Parker has anything to do with it, Aaron will find out," Kristina said as she sat down, wiping at her eyes. "She's coming to the Floating Rib tonight. I can't tell Aaron I don't want to go because we had plans to spend New Year's Eve there with everyone who's going. Morgan, Michael, Molly, TJ, Rafe! Everyone is going and Parker is going to humiliate me."

"You made a mistake, it happens to the best of us," Sam said, sitting on the coffee table in front of her. "If Aaron loves you, he'll forgive you."

"Will you two come tonight? For backup?" Kristina asked and Jason gave Sam a look. "Please?"

"I don't know how much help we'll be, but of course," Sam said, hugging Kristina.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jason asked, gesturing to her baby bump.

"It's not like I'm going to be knocking back shots with everyone," Sam rolled her eyes. "Coleman owes me free food after I caught him checking out my ass last time I was there."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"This means so much to me," Kristina said, hugging Sam again and then hugging Jason, who was caught by surprise. "I'm going to go find Aaron. I hope he understands. Either way, I'll be getting hammered tonight."

"Let me know how it goes," Sam said, walking Kristina out. She turned and looked at Jason with a guilty smile. "Sorry."

"As long as you feel up to it, it's fine," Jason said.

"I was actually going to suggest going. Maybe play some pool, actually get my New Year's kiss this time," she said, resting her hands on his waist.

"That sounds like a great idea," he said.

* * *

"Hayden, take an early lunch break and come eat with me," Carly said and Hayden looked at her in surprise. She's been working there for a few months now, but never really go to know Carly. All she knew was she didn't want to get on her bad side.

"Is everything okay, Mrs. Corinthos?"

"Call me Carly, please," she said, grabbing two menus and sitting down. "I've been so busy with the hotel and the craziness that's been happening in my own life that I haven't really taken the chance to get to know you after I hired you."

"That's fine, I understand," Hayden said. "Everyone has been going a little crazy. Since I'm not from here, I don't really get half of it but Nikolas and Lucky have been stressed."

"People have been popping up everywhere," Carly rolled her eyes. "I had my husband's ex at Thanksgiving just because she wanted to see for herself that Jason was alive."

"That sounds like an interesting dinner."

"Understatement of the year," Carly laughed.

"I woke up the night they brought Emily home and found out the next morning the woman was my husband's amnesiac ex-wife."

"I'm sure you learned quickly that things are never boring here in Port Charles," Carly said and Hayden nodded. "Are you still living with Nikolas?"

"No, Sam was nice enough to let me rent her apartment from her," Hayden said. "She's been really sweet, which surprised me considering I never did anything to deserve her kindness."

"Sam will go out of her way to help people, even if they don't deserve it," Carly said. "She's great. I used to hate her and wanted her to leave Port Charles for good, but now I can't imagine not having her around.

"Really? You two seem really close."

"Jason is my best friend and I was used to coming first in his life. I don't like to share," Carly shrugged.

"Fair enough," Hayden said, trying not to laugh. "Safe to assume you got over that?"

"Kind of," Carly said, sensing why Sam got along with Hayden. "Jason died and I knew if I wanted to see Danny, I needed to deal with Sam. We grew closer after that."

"That's good. It's nice knowing you have people who care about you."

"Safe to say that Lucky is one of those people for you?" Carly asked as she sipped her drink and smirked when Hayden almost choked. "Is that a yes?"

"He's been a really good friend," Hayden said.

"He visits you every other week since you started working here," Carly said. "Lucky's a good guy."

"I know, but I was married to his brother. I'm not Elizabeth Webber."

"Oh honey, don't worry about being compared to her. You're not even close," she reassured her. "Alexis Davis went for brothers, too. Has a kid with each. Welcome to Port Charles."

"Well," Hayden said, not sure what to say after that. "It'll work itself out."

"It usually does," Carly agreed. "You have any plans for tonight?"

"Hot date with my couch and a bottle of wine."

"Cancel that date and come to the New Year's Eve party we're hosting tonight," Carly said and cut Hayden off when she went to say no. "Please, it's a lot of fun. You get free alcohol since you work here. Lulu and Dante are coming, too. Maybe Lucky will be here and you'll get lucky."

"Carly," Hayden said, laughing at how Carly said it. "Okay, I'll come. If I make an ass out of myself in front of my boss, it's your fault."

"Luckily I'm the boss," Carly smiled.

* * *

"It is crazy busy here tonight, wow," Sam said as she walked into the Floating Rib with Jason. The bar was filled with college kids and adults. She noticed Mac and Felicia behind the bar, Dillon and Kiki talking with Morgan, Michael, and a few other kids, and Kristina sitting at the bar staring into her drink.

"I'll go see if I can get us a table," Jason said, noticing Kristina as well. Sam nodded and walked over to her sister, sitting on the barstool next to her.

"Everything okay?"

"I told Aaron," she said. "He took it better than expected, actually."

"Why do you look upset then?"

"I just prepped myself for the worst that I didn't really react well when he said it was okay," she shrugged. "He said he understood, and wasn't exactly thrilled I cheated on him but could tell I was unsure of myself in our relationship."

"He sounds smart."

"He's great," Kristina said, smiling for the first time all night. "He's talking with Morgan and Michael. I'm just mad at myself I did that."

"It was a mistake, you won't let it happen again, right?" Sam said and Kristina shook her head. "Okay, so you learn and move on. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to help anyone."

"Why are you so smart and understanding too?"

"I've made so many mistakes in my life, and as much as I want to keep you and Molly from making similar mistakes, I know they have to happen sometimes," she said with a shrug. "Just don't marry men to steal their money."

"Deal," Kristina smirked. "I'd offer to buy you a drink, but you're about to pop with that baby bump."

"I feel like it," Sam groaned. "I've been crampy all day it's the worst."

"You love it," Kristina said knowingly.

"I do, a little," Sam said with a small smile. "When it's something you don't think can happen, you enjoy every painful, annoying experience."

"Looks like Jason scared away some people and got a table," Kristina said with a laugh, hopping off the stool and helping Sam as they went over to the table. "Put those enforcer skills to use, Mr. Morgan?"

"I think I remember that guy from that time we went on a date here," Jason said.

"Oh, the one who hit on me and then practically tripped running away when he saw you," Sam laughed and Jason nodded. "I don't think we have to worry about that tonight."

"Yeah, nothing says taken like a baby bump," Kristina smirked. "So, we ordering nachos?"

"Yes," Sam said, practically drooling over the thought of food. "And wings."

"I'll be back," Jason said, standing up to get the food.

"Isn't he the best?" Sam said as she admired her husband.

"Yeah, you're not the only one who thinks so," Kristina said, noticing all the college girls staring at him too.

"I think some girl just pinched my ass," Aaron said as he sat down next to Kristina. "I'm joining you ladies. Hi, I'm Aaron. I don't think we've officially met yet."

"Sam, very nice to meet you," Sam said, shaking his hand. "I've heard nothing but great things from Kristina."

"Same about you. She says you're her favorite," Aaron said as he wrapped his arm around Kristina.

"I'm glad she thinks so now," Sam laughed.

"Is the party over here now?" Michael asked as he pulled over another table and some more chairs to join them. "Why are you here?"

"Jason and I can still keep up with the young crowd," Sam joked. "We were here last year and I think we both had a pretty wonderful year, so I'm feeling a little superstitious."

"You guys had the best year," Michael said. "I think we all did pretty good. Can't complain."

"I finally don't feel like a crazy person, so cheers to that," Morgan said, raising his glass of water.

"Where are Molly and TJ? And Rafe? I don't remember him saying what he was doing tonight," Sam asked.

"Metro Court," Kristina said. "They changed their plans last minute. Shawn was going there and TJ wanted to spend some time with him, and Carly offered Rafe a job for the night to pick up some extra money."

"Hm, maybe he did mention he was working," Sam said. "I don't remember much these days."

"Baby brain," Kristina said. Jason came back with the nachos and wings that they requested. "Yes! Best brother-in-law ever."

"There's more coming, come help," Jason said, pulling Michael out of his chair.

"You and Sam look really happy," Michael said as he followed Jason to the bar.

"We are. Probably the happiest we've been in a long time. She's always made me happy, we just finally don't have anyone trying to interfere."

"I see you two and I wonder if I'll ever find that for myself," Michael admitted as Mac gave him a new beer.

"You will," Jason said simply. "It takes a while sometimes to find that perfect person, but once you find them you know."

"Thanks, Michael said with a small nod.

"Any chance I can hire you two for the night," Mac joked as he handed them the rest of the food Jason ordered.

"Never thought I'd get a job offer from the former commissioner," Jason said with a smirk as he handed him money.

"Never thought I'd see you on the right side of the law."

"Looks like people do change," Jason said and Mac nodded. They went back to the table and sat down. "Happy?"

"Extremely happy," Sam said as she popped a chip in her mouth. "This is just what the baby wanted."

"Where did Kristina go?"

"She went to get another drink," Sam said, turning around to find her sister. She spotted her at the bar talking to an older blonde, looking annoyed. "Uh oh."

"What?"

"I'll be right back," Sam said, standing up and walking over to Kristina. "Hi, we've never met. I'm Sam, Kristina's sister."

"Parker," she said simply. "Kristina, maybe we can talk outside."

"I told you, we have nothing to talk about. That night shouldn't have happened, I have a boyfriend and you're married."

"You're lying to yourself."

"Maybe she is, and maybe Aaron isn't the one for her, but she needs to learn that for herself. Isn't that what  _professors_ do? They want their students to learn," Sam said.

"I'm sorry, but this is between Kristina and me."

"My sister has probably already asked you to leave and told me she feels nothing for you. I'm not one to tell her what to do, but I think if I suggested that you go, she would agree."

"I told you not to come here," Kristina said.

"Clearly your sister is uncomfortable with the fact that I'm a woman."

"No, I'm uncomfortable with the fact that you were her teacher. You should have never pursued anything further with Kristina because of that teacher-student relationship. That power dynamic, while you may think it doesn't exist, is in full force right now while you stand here and disregard her asking you to leave because you think you know better. You don't. Now I'm telling you for the last time to leave Kristina alone."

"Is that what you want?" Parked asked, looking directly at Kristina.

"Yes," she said firmly. "I'm sorry."

"Very well," Parker said. "Have a happy new year."

"I really didn't think she would show up," Kristina said as they went back to the table. "Thank you for that."

"You're okay? I don't want to pull a Mom and butt into your relationships."

"No, you didn't at all," Kristina said, hugging Sam. "Parker wasn't leaving me alone, hopefully now she will."

"I meant what I said, it wasn't because she was a woman. If you date a girl after Aaron, I want to meet her. You have to be happy."

"I know, thank you," Kristina said, sniffing back tears so she didn't ruin her makeup. She took a deep breath and put a smile on her face. "There better be wings left, Morgan!"

"Why would I eat them all?" he asked as they both sat down again.

"Please," Kristina rolled her eyes, pulling the basket away from him. "Next round is on Mikey, Mr. CEO."

* * *

"Ready to lose again?" Sam said with a smirk as she grabbed the pool sticks and handed one to Jason.

"I'm ready to win," he said as he racked. "You know, some people would think it would be wrong to not let a pregnant woman win, but I'd have to disagree."

"Oh yeah?" Sam laughed. "Why's that?"

"Because you're special," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "It's almost midnight."

"Can't wait for the kiss I didn't get last year," she said.

"You guys looking for two more?"

"Uh, no," Sam said, shaking her head at the two college boys. "One on one game."

"Afraid you'll lose?"

"No," Jason said simply.

"Don't I know you?" Sam said as she looked at the one kid. "Wait, you're the one who hit on me last time. Why don't you go hang out with people your own age?"

"Greg, why do you keep bothering them?" Morgan yelled from the table. "Leave Sam and Jason alone."

"Wait, you know them?" Greg asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"Jason's like my uncle and Sam is Kristina's sister," Morgan rolled his eyes.

"Oh shit," Greg said as he slowly backed away. "Enjoy your night."

"Looks like your reputation precedes you," Sam laughed as Jason rolled his eyes. "Let's play."

Halfway through the game, the countdown began and everyone in the bar was counting loudly since they were all drunk. Sam watched Jason as he moved closer to her.

"You're winning," he whispered in her ear and she nodded. "I'm glad I get to spend every New Year's Eve with you."

"Me too," she said, inching closer as the countdown hit '10.' "Last year was pretty good to us."

"This year will be even better," he said, brushing her hair out of her face. Everyone yelled 'Happy New Year' as Jason leaned down to kiss her. Sam rested her hands against his abs as she leaned closer to him, he held her face in his hands gently. Suddenly, she pulled away when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and a rush of wet.

"Jason," she said, gently shoving him away. "My water just broke."

"You're not due yet."

"This baby doesn't care," she said. "Let's go."

"Where are you two going?" Kristina yelled as she watched Sam and Jason rush toward the exit.

"Baby's coming!"

"Oh my god! We're coming with you," Kristina said, grabbing her stuff and pulling everyone out of their seats. "Mac, I'll pay you tomorrow!"

"Don't worry about it. Congratulations," he said, noticing the commotion.

* * *

"How are you doing?" Jason asked, holding Sam's hand as he sat beside her. She was lying in the hospital bed, breathing deeply and waiting impatiently until she could push.

"This is so much better than giving birth in a cabin during a storm," she joked but got hit with another contraction. "She needs to come out already."

"Soon," Britt said. "You're almost dilated enough to start pushing."

"I'm so glad you're here with me this time," Sam said, turning her head toward Jason.

"I promised you I would be. I meant when I said we'd do things differently," he said, kissing her forehead. "I can't wait to meet our little girl."

"Me either."

"Okay, Sam," Britt said, checking again and seeing Sam was ready to push. "You ready?"

"More than ever."

After an hour of pushing and pain and a lot of yelling, their baby girl finally entered the world at two in the morning. Sam was exhausted and almost fell asleep as she held her. Jason couldn't help but get emotional as he watched Sam hold her daughter, knowing that she never got the chance to hold Lila.

"She's beautiful, like you," he said quietly as he stared down at the two of them. "You did great."

"We have to name her," Sam said as she looked down at her. They had discussed a bunch of different names, but couldn't really pick the right one. She remembered in her fantasy how she named her daughter Emily to honor Jason's sister, but a lot has changed since that time.

"I think her middle name should be Lila," Jason said and Sam hummed in agreement. "First name?"

"Alison," Sam said after a moment of looking down at her baby. "Alison Lila Morgan."

"Perfect," he whispered, taking Alison out of Sam's arms.

"If it's alright with you, I think I'm going to take a nap," Sam said and Jason laughed.

"I'll go tell everyone the good news," he said, placing Alison in the crib so he could fill out the birth certificate.

"I'm going to bring her to the NICU for some tests since she is premature," Britt said as she took the birth certificate from Jason.

"Is that okay?"

"I don't suspect there to be any problems, you're about a month early but this little girl was ready to come out," Britt said, smiling down at Alison. "Jason, you can come by when you get a chance. I'm sure Sam wants to rest."

"Yeah, sure," he nodded and watched as Britt wheeled Alison out. He sat down next to Sam and leaned down to kiss her. "You okay by yourself?"

"More than okay," she sighed. "Go let everyone know they have a new niece and granddaughter to love."

"Okay," he said, kissing her one more time before leaving and going to the waiting room. Michael had called Alexis and Carly to let them know Sam went into labor. Jason laughed when he saw Carly still had on one of those New Year's crowns from the party.

"Sam had the baby?" Alexis asked frantically when she spotted Jason.

"Yeah. Alison Lila Morgan," he said and everyone started talking excitedly about the new baby.

"Is she up?"

"She was going to rest, but I'm sure she won't mind some company," Jason said. He was startled when Alexis hugged him before walking toward Sam's room.

"Congratulations," Carly said, hugging him as well.

"Good name choice," Sonny said with a nod.

"I'd have to agree," Monica said, wiping at her eyes. "I finally have a granddaughter. I can't wait to meet her."

"Dr. Westbourne brought her over to the NICU, I'm going to check on her now. Would you like to come?"

"I would love to," Monica smiled. "I'll meet you over there, I have to drop some paperwork off quick."

"Okay," he nodded. He headed over to the NICU and was almost surprised to see Valentin standing at the window. Almost.

"Congratulations, Mr. Morgan. A daughter is a wonderful thing."

"Don't even think going near her," Jason said. "We know you've been continuing the research done on children while you've been here. You've been behind everything that was done."

"Victor was too focused on having a male heir. He thought everything had to do with a name. That is important, but he didn't understand the power that females carried," Valentin said as he slowly turned Jason and showed he was holding Alison in his arms. "A female is the one who carries the future heirs."

"Give me my daughter," Jason said, never feeling so helpless before in his life. He didn't want to do anything that would endanger Alison.

"If you shoot me, you risk either hitting this innocent child – your innocent child – or having me drop her. Your best option is letting me leave. You'll see her again, when she's a little older," Valentin smirked. "Females also take much better to the growth serum I've developed. Athena aged quite well for only being born a year ago."

"Give the baby to Jason," Robin said, holding Valentin at gunpoint from behind. She had been talking with Milo about what he should get Epiphany and noticed Valentin and Jason down the hall. She took Milo's gun and told him to get help. "I don't want to, but I'll shoot. You've done enough harm, Valentin."

"Dr. Scorpio-Drake, I'm surprised at you. After everything you've done for the Cassadines to further their work."

"I didn't do it for them, I went back to save Jason and got stuck there longer than planned," she said. "Give Jason his daughter."

"I don't think I will," he shrugged.

Robin met Jason's eye and nodded, knowing that Jason had a plan in mind to get his daughter back safely. Jason shoved into Valentin, grabbing Alison and cradling her in his arms. Robin stepped back and watched as Valentin stumbled, she stood in front of Jason and kept the gun pointed at Valentin.

"You won't shoot me with the baby around. The gun shot would be too loud for her delicate, new ears," Valentin said smugly as he regained his composure. "You might have bested me this time, but it won't happen again."

"You're right, it won't," Jason said. Valentin turned around and was met with Max's fist knocking him out cold.

"What should we do with him, boss?"

"Tie him up, call Lucky Spencer. Him and Anna would be interested to know he was behind everything," Jason said. Robin took Alison from Jason and brought her back into the NICU.

"Got it," Max nodded, getting Milo to help drag Valentin down the hall.

"She's beautiful, Jason," Robin said with a smile when she came back out.

"Thank you for that," Jason said.

"I know you would do it for me without a second thought," she said, resting her hand on her stomach that still wasn't showing any hint of a baby. "You should get back to Sam, she's probably worried."

"I hope she doesn't know," Jason sighed. "She needs rest."

"I'll wait here until Britt or someone else comes by to keep watch. Just in case."

"Thank you," Jason said, hugging her before he left. He walked into Sam's room and found Alexis and Monica standing at the edge of the bed talking while Sam was asleep. "Everything okay?"

"Should I be asking you that?" Monica asked, giving him a look. "I saw. I made a call."

"So did Max. Everything's fine," he said. "Robin is with Alison now if you two want to go see her."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Alexis said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she followed Monica out. "To think I always blamed your son for bringing danger to my daughter and it ends up being my crazy family."

"I know you're awake," Jason sighed as he sat down on the bed. Sam scooted over to make room for him to lay down. "Alison is perfectly safe, thanks to Robin."

"And you," she said, not opening her eyes yet. "Valentin?"

"Out cold. Max knocked him out."

"Always knew I liked him," Sam smiled. "It's done?"

"It's done," Jason nodded. "Ready to live a normal life?"

"More than ever," she said, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into his chest. "Any life with you is all I ever wanted."


	45. XLV.

"Thanks for having lunch with me," Sam said as she handed the waiter her menu after he took their orders.

"Of course, I should be thanking you for giving me a reason to take my break earlier," Hayden smiled. "Also, getting to meet this little one is making my day."

"Isn't she precious?" Sam said with a smile as she looked over at Ally asleep in her carrier. "Can't believe she's six weeks old already."

"Alison Lila, right?"

"Yeah, Jason wanted to pick her middle name so I got to pick her first name," Sam nodded. "Lila was what we named our daughter but she was stillborn, and Jason's father's name was Alan and my mom is Alexis, so Ally comes from the two of them. And you know Spinelli, he started looking up the meanings and found out it means 'noble birth' or something like that. He rambled a lot."

"Kind of ironic since your kids were wanted because of their heritage."

"That's what I said! We just landed on Alison because Jason got tired of me looking at the baby book. Spinelli had told us that fun fact after," Sam said with a laugh. "That's the fun story behind Ally's name."

"It's a good one," Hayden smiled. "What's Jason up to today?"

"He's overseeing construction on a new coffee shop today, which is why he couldn't watch her."

"How's he like doing that?"

"It's different work for him, but he's staying busy and he's still barking orders at people so I think he's okay with it," Sam laughed. "He's not the type to stay home and do nothing."

"I'm glad things settled down enough for you guys to say you've been doing nothing," Hayden said. "Lucky had filled me in on what happened with Valentin."

"It was crazy," Sam shook her head. "Thank god for Jason and Robin being there. I don't know what I'd do if another child was taken from me."

"I couldn't imagine."

"So, Lucky, huh?" Sam said with a smirk as she took a sip from her drink and saw Hayden blush. "Spill! I haven't really been able to talk to anyone about anything other than the baby."

"I guess you could say we're dating," she said with a small shrug, unable to keep the smile off her face. "He's really great. It was weird at first because I didn't know what to do about Nikolas, but he said he was okay with it. I didn't want anything to be weird between any of us, you know? They're brothers and Nikolas and I are finally in a good place as friends. I didn't want to risk ruining that. Besides, he's been busy."

"Busy with who?"

"She didn't say anything?" Hayden said and laughed when she saw Sam's confusion. "Nikolas and Britt kissed on New Years and they were on their way to the room he rented when she got called in because your water broke."

"No," Sam said in shock, unable to stop laughing. "No way that happened."

"They were like shell-shocked when she got called in because I don't even think they realized what was happening, they were so caught up in the moment."

"They're still talking?"

"He doesn't say anything, but I can tell he's been happier lately. I stayed over one night because I was spending time with Spencer and he left and didn't come back until early in the morning."

"Good for them," Sam said with a small nod. "Anything else I missed at the Metro Court party?"

"I'm sure you know about Maxie and Spinelli," Hayden said and Sam nodded. "It was a sweet moment. They're cute together."

"I'm hoping Lucky made a move while you were watching everyone else."

"He did," Hayden smiled. "It was a good night for everyone."

"Do you guys have any Valentine's Day plans?"

"No, not at all," she shook her head. "He's been busy with the boys and I've been working a lot. Carly's been great so I don't want to let her down."

"She told me she loves having you here, so I wouldn't worry too much."

"Worry about what?" Lucky said, overhearing the end of the conversation when he walked in with Jason.

"Can't be good if the two of them are coming up with something," Jason said as he leaned down and kissed the top of Sam's head. "How are my girls doing?"

"Great," she smiled as she watched him take Ally out of her carrier. "She's been so good this whole time."

"She's beautiful," Lucky said as he sat down next to Hayden.

"What brings you two by?" Sam asked as she made room for Jason to sit.

"Sonny asked me to drop something off to Carly quick."

"I, uh, usually stop by," Lucky said awkwardly.

"We just ordered a little bit ago, if you guys are hungry," Hayden said.

"Max did eat all the pizza we ordered before," Jason rolled his eyes.

"Stay and hang out for a little," Sam smiled, kissing his cheek.

* * *

Ric decided to take Elizabeth to the Metro Court for lunch to celebrate how well she's progressed over the past few months. Her doctor decided to release her temporarily to see how she can handle adjusting back to her life in Port Charles. She was released into his care for the next few weeks and he was more than thrilled about that.

"You didn't have to do this, Ric," she said as he led her over to the table he reserved. "Staying home would have been just as nice."

"You'll be home for a while, so I thought coming out into the public for a few hours would be a good way to celebrate your first day of freedom," he said. "We can go home, if you really want."

"No, it's fine," she smiled. "I'm just anxious, you know? I've been doing well and I just don't want to ruin that."

"You won't, and the only way to make sure you don't is by not isolating yourself. I didn't let anyone know you were being released, I figured you'd want to get settled first."

"I just want to see my boys," she said. "Not like anyone wants to see me, anyway. During the last visit, Aiden told me about Lucky and Hayden dating. Jason never answered any of the letters I wrote to him. Nikolas still visits, but he feels conflicted, I can tell."

"It takes time for everyone, even you," Ric said sympathetically. "If you don't mind me asking, what did those letters to Jason say?"

"The first few were when I was still in a really bad place. I wanted him back, I blamed Sam for a lot. I thought we had this epic love story when in reality it was just my obsession over a one-night stand. Even now as I think about it, I'm embarrassed."

"What about the last one?"

"It was an apology. If I'm going to be honest, under different circumstances, I would still love to be with him. He's kind of the one that got away," she said sheepishly. "But I know now that it won't happen. He loves Sam, he never loved me that way. Not to mention I took steps that ruined any chance I would have had with him over the years in my desperate attempt to be with him. Toward the end of the letter I realized that just the idea of being with him brought out the worst in me, and that's not what I want for myself. Maybe if things had been different and our lives had gone down different paths, we could have been together. But right now, and forever for that matter, it will never happen. It shouldn't happen."

"That's rather insightful."

"I've had a lot of time to think things over," she laughed.

"So, if I may be so bold," Ric said with a smirk. "You think about anyone else while you were reflecting on past relationships?"

"You mean you?"

"Maybe."

"I think there's a chance, in the future," she said, resting her hand on his. "I just think I need to focus on getting myself together until I jump into another relationship."

"Fair enough," he nodded. "Lucky for you, I'm a very patient man."

"Thank you for this," Elizabeth said when they finished up lunch. "I think I needed this."

"I'm glad," he said. "Anything to keep that smile on your face."

They stood up and began to walk out when the sound of a baby crying made Elizabeth turn her head and Ric let out a groan. Ally had gotten fussy and started crying, which prompted Jason to stand up and start rocking her.

"I just have to do something," Elizabeth said as she began to walk over to them.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ric said, trying to coax her out of the restaurant to no avail.

"She's beautiful," she said once she reached the table. Jason glared at her as Sam stood up in front of him and Ally. "Congratulations."

"Why are you out?" Sam asked bluntly.

"Everyone gets released at one point or another," Ric said.

"It's only been three months. She had delusions that she was pregnant with my husband's child and that I swapped the babies. Excuse me if I'm a little concerned since my child is now born," Sam said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was really sick at one point, that was the worst I got. I'm on a trial release to see how I can cope being back in society," she explained while looking down at her hands. "I just wanted to try to make amends for the things I said. I'm guessing you never read my letters, Jason."

"No, I either threw them out or burned them," Jason said and Elizabeth nodded, feeling her eyes well up. "I can't help you get better, Elizabeth. Not only that, but I don't want to. It's something you needed to do on your own. Seems like you've been doing that."

"Yeah, things have been better. Hopefully these next few weeks go well," she said, turning to Hayden. "My boys say you're great. I'm sorry for all the rude things I've said to you since you came to town."

"Thanks," Hayden said.

"If you want, I can stay home tomorrow so you can come see Cam, Jake, and Aiden," Lucky offered.

"Actually," Ric began, about to make a case for the boys staying overnight with Elizabeth but she shook her head.

"That would be wonderful," she said. "Sorry about interrupting, enjoy the rest of your day."

"How do you feel?" Ric asked once they stepped into the elevator.

"Better than expected," she smiled.

Sam, Jason, Lucky and Hayden looked at each other in confusion before shaking their head and going back to getting ready to leave. Jason carried Ally in her carrier as him and Sam headed toward the parking garage. He strapped her in for Sam and walked over to the driver's side where she was standing.

"Everything okay?"

"Just hoping now that Elizabeth's back things continue to get better for her," she sighed. "She seems okay. Heavily medicated, but okay."

"She lost everything, I think that needed to happen for her to finally get better."

"It's hard losing everything, I've been there," Sam said, thinking back to the dark times in their relationship. "At least she's had Ric stand by her, as crappy as a person as he is he cares about her."

"You'll never not have me again," he said, stepping closer and kissing her forehead. "You'll never be alone."

"I know," she nodded, kissing him quickly. "I'll see you later?"

"I have to go back to the coffee shop and check on a few things. I can pick Danny up from school so you don't have to come back out."

"You are the best husband ever," she smiled, kissing him again before getting into the car. "Love you."

"Love you too," he said as he shut the door.

* * *

It was Valentine's Day and Sam was trying not to rip her hair out as she listened to Maxie rant as she paced back and forth in the hallway. Emily and Nathan had decided to get married and have a giant wedding. Sam wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but she couldn't tell Emily 'no' when she asked her to be in her bridal party. She got stuck in a bright red gown that didn't exactly fit well.

"Maxie, I have to get inside," Sam said, trying to get a word in but Maxie didn't stop.

"Why am I at this wedding right now?!"

"Because you R.S.V.P-ed yes," Sam said simply. "Everyone is getting ready, I have to go in there. I don't understand this melt down, you're with Spinelli now."

"What if Spinelli starts getting wedding dreams again?" she said after a moment, finally sitting down next to Sam. "Things didn't go so well for us when that happened."

"You two are older now and have a child, things are different," Sam said. "Do you want to marry him?"

"Maybe," she said quietly. "It's obviously too new, but then again we do have Georgie."

"Don't rush anything. Don't worry about this mess that's going on in here. Personally, I think Emily's rushing it but I did date Jason on and off for years before getting married so I don't have much insight on this."

"You're right, it'll be okay. I'm over Nathan, he's happy with Emily and I really don't have any hard feelings against her. Not fully her fault he chose to cheat on me," Maxie said with a shrug. "Although, judging by these awful bridesmaids' dresses, I think she's a little insecure. They fit terribly."

"It's big in all the places it shouldn't be," Britt grumbled as she walked past them. "I look pregnant and I most certainly am not. Nikolas would probably die."

"How much time do I have?" Maxie asked, rummaging through her bag and pulling out pins. "Kate made sure I could make alterations on the fly. Least I can do for revenge is make sure my friends look hot so their significant others can't wait to rip these rags off of them."

"Maybe we shouldn't tempt Jason, or me for that matter," Sam joked.

"Actually, I forgot to tell you but I was surprised neither of you asked," Britt said with a smirk. "You're good, you hit the six-week mark. Just remember you might be more fertile than usual, so use some type of birth control if you don't want to risk having another kid."

"That is the best news," Sam said, hugging Britt. "Best doctor ever."

"I am the best person ever because you guys look smoking hot now," Maxie said, standing back to admire her handiwork. "I feel so much better about this wedding now."

"Oh look, I do have boobs," Britt said sarcastically as she checked herself out in the mirror. "Let's get this show on the road."

"This is a really shitty Valentine's Day, by the way," Maxie noted as she followed them to the reception hall where the ceremony was being held. "Like, how selfish are you to have your wedding on Valentine's Day when everyone else probably had plans to do something."

"I know Molly was prepping for another Valentine's date for me and Jason, so he was kind of relieved to get out of that," Sam laughed.

"Nikolas has been busy," Britt shrugged. "He's not entirely pleased about being here either since Emily is his ex, but he's happy for her."

"Let's get this started," Sam sighed. She spotted Jason talking with Dante and walked over to them. "Ready?"

"Why am I in a tie right now?" Jason complained as he pulled on the red tie that matched the dresses. "I didn't want to do this when Spinelli was getting married to Maxie, I don't even know Nathan."

"Emily asked, and she's your sister. Hence why I'm up here with you," Sam said.

"I'm very glad it's you," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "Did that dress get smaller?"

"Maxie worked her magic," Sam smiled. "How'd you notice?"

"I, uh," he stammered, not wanting to say in front of everyone he was checking out her chest. "I just know these things."

"Right," she said with a smirk as she leaned up to whisper in his ear. "My boobs look fantastic in this dress right now, don't they?"

"Sam," he groaned quietly. "We have an entire wedding to get through."

"I have a surprise for you after the wedding."

"What kind of surprise?"

"The kind you'll be very happy about. The kind I just got the all clear for from Britt."

"So can we skip the wedding?"

"No," she laughed, but quieted once the doors opened and the music began to play. "We can leave early."

"Deal," he said, linking arms with her and kissing her temple.

* * *

"Can I take the blindfold off now?" Sam said with a laugh as she felt Jason stop his bike. It was the day after the wedding and he insisted on spending the day with just her since Valentine's Day involved everyone else.

"Soon," he said, unclipping her helmet before picking her up and carrying her to the destination. He set her down in front of the door to open it before picking her up again.

"Jason!" she laughed.

"Okay, now you can," he said, untying the blindfold while holding her. They were in the cabin and she gasped when she saw the table set up with candles for a romantic dinner and champagne. "You like it?"

"You did this?" she asked and he nodded, putting her back down.

"I wanted to do something special," he said, taking her hands in his. "About a year ago today, give or take a week, I called you so you could help me with some of the things I was remembering about our life together. That day I realized I didn't have to pretend to be Jason Morgan to make everyone happy, that I didn't have to step back into a life I didn't fully remember. You accepted me in whatever capacity I came in and that meant the world to me. I know it couldn't have been easy."

"It was the easiest choice I could have made," she said, holding his arms as his hands cupped her face. "Being with you is as natural as breathing, it's not even a choice really. You are the first man I've truly trusted and felt safe with, and I just wanted you in my life in any way possible. Knowing you wanted to be with me again, I couldn't tell you how I felt."

"I can understand," he said, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I thought after how I treated you, you wouldn't want to give me a second chance. Honestly, I probably didn't deserve it, but I'm so glad you did. We have a beautiful family, a family that you always wanted and I always dreamed of having. I never thought I could have any of this until I met you."

"Yeah," she said with a small laugh, at a loss for words. "I have to say, you are the most romantic man I know, Jason Morgan."

"Really? Molly wouldn't agree," he joked, taking her hand and bringing her over to the table. "I did bring poetry."

"Yes," Sam said excitedly when she took the firearms magazine from him. "Do you need any help with anything?"

"Food related, no," he smirked.

"You've done so much, I want to help," she said with a pout. "You didn't have to do so much to show that you love me. I see it every day when we wake up in bed together and I notice you staring at me in the morning, or when you play with Danny and calm Ally down when she's crying. I feel your love for me when you hold me, or just take my hand when we're out."

"I'm a better man because you love me," he said.

"And I'm a better woman because you love me," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him. "I'm so grateful you finally remember everything."

"Me too," he said as he brushed her hair away from her eyes. "Thanks for reminding me."


End file.
